Rival football fans banned from attending football games after fight in Cheltenham town centre

Rival football fans have been banned from attending regulated matches after they were involved in a fight in Cheltenham town centre.

Eleven men, who are supporters of Cheltenham Town and Bristol Rovers and aged in their 20s, appeared at Bristol Crown Court for sentencing on Monday 20 and Wednesday 23 October.

They were all given football banning orders for three years, fined £214 and have to undertake between 40 and 100 hours of community service.

Police had been called to Bath Road in Cheltenham on Saturday 15 October 2022 with a report of a disorder between Cheltenham Town and Bristol Rovers fans.

An altercation between the two sets of fans had broken out ahead of their League One fixture that afternoon.

The groups had been drinking at nearby pubs when they began to goad each other.

A fight broke out on the street with punches exchanged, and the groups then dispersed and went their separate ways.

Officers investigating the affray reviewed CCTV footage from the pubs and, following a public CCTV appeal, 15 men were identified.

All of the men were charged with affray offences and later appeared at court.

The case went to trial and 11 of the men pleaded guilty to the charges against them, one man was found not guilty and three others had the charges against them dropped.

In mitigation during sentencing, the court heard that the men were young and immature at the time of the fight, but have since "grown up" and would not behave the same way now.

The football banning orders against the men have the following conditions:

• The men must not enter any premises for the purpose of attending any football matches in the United Kingdom which are regulated for the purposes of the Football Spectators Act 1989. The Secretary of State makes Orders as to which matches are regulated. 
• When football matches are being played outside the United Kingdom, they must report to the named police station and surrender any form of travel authorisation held in their name according to instructions notified by the Football Banning Orders Authority

During this order, the men must give notice to the Football Banning Orders Authority of any of the following events: 

• A change of any of their name(s)
• The first use of a name that was not disclosed at the time of the making of the order 
• A change of their address
• Their acquisition of a temporary address
• A change of their temporary address or them ceasing to have one
• Becoming aware of the loss of their travel authorisation
• Receipt of a new travel authorisation
• An appeal made by them in relation to the order
• An application by them under section 14 H(2) of the Football Spectators Act 1989 for termination of the order
• An appeal made by them under section 23(3) of the Football Spectators Act 1989 against the making of a declaration of relevance in respect of an offence of which they have been convicted

Football Officer PC Adrian Tuft from Gloucestershire Constabulary said: "I am pleased that these men are now facing the consequences of their actions.

"The fight took place on a busy street in the middle of the day and it's lucky that no-one was badly injured. Hopefully this case shows that violence and inappropriate behaviour linked to football fans will not be tolerated."

John Duffy, the Safety Officer at Cheltenham Town FC added: "This firm action, taken by Police with the full support and cooperation of the club, shows a determination to ensure that anyone who behaves poorly in or around a Cheltenham Town FC fixture can expect to face the consequences of their actions."