Football thug back in court for breaching banning order at Shrewsbury Town match
A football troublemaker has been hauled before the courts again after eagle-eyed police officers caught him trying to breach his banning order by watching a Shrewsbury Town match.
Benjamin Richardson was given a Football Banning Order (FBO) which prevents him from attending games for five years in March.
Richardson, 28, of Pebble Close in Stourbridge, was in as many as 20 football related disorders between 2008 and 2015. Most of them occurred at Wolverhampton Wanderers matches.
He was also forced to leave an encounter between Poland and England in Warsaw in 2012 after trying to force his way into the ground.
Despite the banning order being in place; officers from West Midlands Police football unit spotted Richardson attempting to attend a game between Stourbridge and Shrewsbury Town in July this year.
He was stopped at the turnstiles and arrested for trying to breach his banning order, with a subsequent search showing he had a smoke grenade.
Richardson denied the offences but was convicted after a trial at Dudley Magistrates Court on Wednesday.
He was ordered to carry out 200 hours of community work and must pay a court bill of £640.
PC Martin Portman, from the West Midlands Police football unit, said: "A ban is there for a reason and this should serve as a strong warning that anyone who tries to breach their FBO will be caught and face further punishment.
"The orders are not only given to people convicted of violence or disorder at matches but anyone who commits a football-related offence such as fighting or damaging property in a pub whilst watching a match."
