Eight football banning orders for Nottingham matchday violence

Eight Leicester City fans have been banned from attending football matches for four and six years years for their part in a violent incident in Nottingham when their side met Nottingham Forest in last season’s FA Cup fourth-round match.

The group were part of a crowd of Leicester City supporters who threw bottles and furniture at the windows of Fat Cat’s café bar in Chapel Bar in the city centre. A large group of fans were walking through the centre of Nottingham, when they started behaving aggressively towards an individual at the entrance of the bar. The incident escalated to violence, with members of the group throwing bottles and outside furniture, causing almost £1,000 worth of damage to the bar.

Five of the group, Craig Jones, Craig Flint, Tyrone Smith, Przemyslaw Danik and Neil Munden were identified on the day as having been involved in the violence. A further three, Samuel James-Molloy, Warren Green and Nathan Charles, were identified from footage of the incident. They were all arrested and charged with violent disorder. All eight defendants pleaded guilty and were sentenced today at Nottingham Crown Court and issued with football banning orders.

Marianne Connally, football lead at CPS East Midlands said: “This was a terrifying incident that took place in broad daylight in the city centre, at a bar where people, including families with children, were enjoying a meal out.

“Although these offences were not committed at the match itself, it was clearly connected to the game due to take place later that afternoon, so all eight have been handed football banning orders.

“Football matches should be safe for the whole community, including the majority at the games who want to enjoy supporting their team. These defendants showed a complete disregard for their surroundings. Some did not even have tickets for the game so were clearly in Nottingham to cause trouble.

“The CPS is committed to tackling football-related offending to help keep our matches and communities safe for all.”

Craig Flint (41, from Whitwick) was sentenced to 21 months' imprisonment and given a six-year football banning order, which also took into account his participation in a separate violent incident the same day.

Tyrone Smith (38, from Leicester) and Craig Jones (24, from Braunstone) were sentenced to 16 months' imprisonment and given six-year football banning orders.

Przemyslaw Danik (41, from Leicester) and Neil Munden (53, from Leicester) were sentenced to 15 months suspended for 20 months, given four-year football banning orders and ordered to pay £250 compensation.

Samuel James-Molloy (25, from Kettering) Nathan Charles (37, from Braunstone Town) and Warren Green (60, from Leicester) were sentenced to 14 months' imprisonment, suspended for two years, given four-year football banning orders and ordered to pay £250 in compensation.

Munden, Danik, James-Molloy, Charles and Green were also ordered to carry our 140 hours of unpaid work.

Douglas Mackay, CPS Sports Lead Prosecutor, added:  “The CPS continues to play a crucial role in tackling these crimes and making our national game inclusive, and safe to watch and play in. There is no place for these violent criminal acts in football, and incidents such as these have a significant negative impact on victims.

 “Significantly more fans are taking part in criminal disorder at matches than before the pandemic. But we’re matching this with prosecutions and banning orders, stopping these fans from watching the game they love and having wider negative impact on their lives and job prospects.

 “We will continue to work closely with the police, football authorities and fan groups to stamp this out.”

Building the case

Charges of violent disorder were chosen to reflect the serious level of violence involved and the impact on people caught up in the incident. To prosecute a case of violent disorder, the CPS must have evidence that three or more people have acted together to use or threaten unlawful violence, in such a way as to cause people nearby to fear for their safety. In this case, there was a large group identified as Leicester City supporters chanting aggressive slogans against their team’s opponents and who chose to use violence outside the café bar.

There was no question that people caught up in the incident were afraid and distressed by what they witnessed. The scene of the incident was nowhere near the match venue and was not traditionally associated with supporters of any football team.

Five of the defendants (Flint, Jones, Smith, Danik and Munden)  were identified at an early stage from footage of the incident. Three further defendants (James-Molloy, Green and Charles) were identified later. However, as they were part of the same incident, their involvement was added to the original case of violent disorder.