Pair found guilty of Sol Campbell abuse

A man and a 14-year-old boy were Friday banned from attending football matches for three years for shouting homophobic chants at Portsmouth and former England defender Sol Campbell.

Ian Trow, 42, from Milton Keynes in southern England, and the boy — who cannot be named for legal reasons — pleaded not guilty to indecent chanting but were convicted by magistrates in Portsmouth.

The chants were aimed at Campbell during a match against his former club Tottenham at Portsmouth’s Fratton Park stadium in September last year.

After a three-hour trial, Georgette Holbrook, chairwoman of the magistrates’ panel, found the two defendants had chanted “Come on gay boy, that’s my gay boy.”

She said: “We find that the words used were in extremely bad taste, they were inappropriate, shocking and disgusting, and as such they were indecent.”

In a statement read to the court, Campbell said he had felt “totally victimised and helpless by the abuse I received.”

He added: “I felt absolutely disgusted at this and I didn’t react because of my profile and I feared I might make the situation worse and cause problems.

“It has had an effect on me personally and I do not want it to continue.”

Prosecution lawyer Sophie Stevens said: “The police and members of the public considered there was significant abuse from the travelling Tottenham supporters, abuse above what is perhaps wrongly accepted at a football match.”

The magistrates were shown footage recorded by police showing Tottenham fans at the match.

Defence lawyer Angie Cunningham told the court the footage was examined by a professional lip reader.

Both Trow and the boy were banned from watching football matches for three years, while Trow was also fined 500 pounds (560 euros, 760 dollars) and ordered to pay 400 pounds costs.

The 14-year-old was given a conditional discharge for 12 months and ordered to pay 400 pounds costs. Both intend to appeal.

Following the match, a total of 11 people were arrested in connection with the chants. Four men pleaded guilty in January and were sentenced to a three-year football banning order and a fine and other men and youths have received cautions and warnings.

The prosecuting authorities in England said that while cases of racist chanting have been prosecuted before, this was the first case of indecent chanting to be brought to the courts.