Club 'delighted' at match ban ruling

Shrewsbury Town Football Club today vowed it would do all it could to stamp out hooliganism following the prosecution of several men for football related violence.

Keith Sayfritz, the club's vice chairman, welcomed the football banning orders imposed on Tuesday on three Shrewsbury men who were involved in a brawl after an FA Cup match between Shrewsbury and Walsall last year.

Nicholas Aaron Rogers, 21, of Wayford Close; Luke Suter, 20, of Whitehouse Gardens; and James Malcolm Blackburn, 22, of Mary Webb Road were all given three year bans from attending football games in England and Wales by magistrates in Walsall.

A further seven Shrewsbury men and two Midlands men have admitted their part in the disorder on November 10, 2007.

Mr Sayfritz said the club took a firm stance against hooliganism and worked closely with police forces to eradicate it on matchdays.

He said: "Football in general and Shrewsbury Town in particular absolutely deplore anybody that goes to football matches with the intention of causing trouble and engaging in hooliganism.

"It's not just a football problem but a problem of society and we are delighted that the people responsible have been brought to account.

"We work very hard with West Mercia Police to ensure that there isn't hooliganism associated with Shrewsbury Town and very often the people engaging in these activities don't actually go to the game, so as far as we are concerned, they are not fans of Shrewsbury Town or any other football club."

Other Shrewsbury men who have received banning orders for their part in the disorder outside Tamebridge Parkway station in Wednesbury, are; Steven Shaun Mackett, 22, of Coton Mount; Paul James Frost, 22, of Worcester Road; Steven Roy Fox, 23, of Rocke Street; Shaun Christopher Peach, 19, of Old Heath; Matthew Williams, of Lea Cross and Craig Thomas Butler, 24, of Myddle.

Frost, Peach, Williams and Fox also received 20 week prison sentences suspended for 12 months.