An 18-year-old escaped being banned from watching his beloved Accrington Stanley despite throwing a till roll on to the pitch during a match.
Daniel Cruickshank, 18, of Church Street, Church, admitted at Hyndburn Magistrates Court to throwing the roll towards the field during a Carling Cup tie with Newcastle on August 25.
Jason Graham, 36, of Avenue Parade, Accrington, also appeared in court after previously pleading not guilty to charges of being drunk and disorderly, resisting arrest and assaulting a police officer at the Newcastle game.
Graham will now face trial at Blackburn Magistrates on November 29.
Stanley boss John Coleman and club chief executive Rob Heys were in the public gallery to support the two fans - who are both Accrington Stanley ‘Ultras’.
During Cruickshank’s hearing Catherine Allan, prosecuting, told the bench: "A till role was thrown towards the pitch, towards an officer on the pitch. A second was thrown, again this missed him."
Miss Allan added: "A decision was made to arrest the defendant (Cruickshank) after the match had finished. You are required to consider a football banning order in this matter."
Defending, Gareth Price, said Mr Cruickshank - a Stanley season ticket holder for five years - wasn’t drunk on the night Stanley played Newcastle and that he’d been allowed through security with his friend prior to the match - despite them both carrying till roles.
"It was a cup game," he said. "With the greatest respect it was a minnow vs a giant."
Mr Price added: "There is no suggestion that he was the first person to throw this item. There is no evidence that he threw it at the officer. In essence he has thrown one thing during the match."
Mr Price estimated that Mr Cruickshank had spent 225 hours watching Accrington Stanley in the last three years - not coming to police attention once.
He added: "My client accepts throwing the item towards the pitch was wrong. This isn’t somebody who needs to be removed from football to prevent further disorder or violence.
"His enthusiasm got the better of him. He apologises for that."
Concluding, chair of the bench Mr J Pye, told Mr Cruickshank that he hadn’t caused any harm but warned him that his actions could have caused injuries
He issued Mr Cruickshank - a keen Sunday league footballer in Accrington and current student of the North Lancs Training Group - with a £100 fine, £15 victim surcharge and £85 for prosecution costs, but no banning order.
Newcastle fans David Collins, 18, of North Shields and Lloyd Miller, 19, from Gateshead, both escaped banning orders but were each fined £100, plus £100 costs for running onto the pitch after their team had scored against Stanley.
