A Plymouth Argyle fan and grandfather has been banned from going to matches for three years after attacking rival supporters at a railway station.
Near lifelong Plymouth Argyle supporter Paul Yendle, 57, of Fuller Road, Perranporth, was charged with affray after attacking rival Portsmouth fans at Plymouth Railway Station on February 11 last year.
However magistrates heard the grandfather came out worst from it after he launched himself at the Portsmouth fans, who were all young men in their twenties, and falling down the station stairs.
Yendle pleaded guilty when he appeared at Truro Magistrates’ Court.
The attack, which was caught on CCTV, happened following a match between the two teams which Plymouth Argyle won 3-1.
The prosecution explained that CCTV caught the Portsmouth fans coming up the stairs and Yendle with a group of Plymouth Argyle fans.
“As you can see from the CCTV Mr Yendle initiates the violence, there is no violence before his behaviour.” She said and invited Truro magistrates to impose a football banning order.
His defence solicitor told magistrates that Yendle was a regular supporter of Plymouth Argyle and had been attending matches since he was about 14 in 1981 and had been a season ticket holder for 15 years.
“Mr Yendle is someone who attends, or was attending, all home matches and some away matches and would normally travel with a group of five friends or so. He said he had taken his children and grandchildren to matches.
He said police identified 30 to 40 Portsmouth fans who were causing trouble throughout the day, 20 of whom were identified as high risk individuals.
He said there had been a problem in the home park and on the way to the railway station where there was a limited police presence.
The fans were on opposite platforms and some sort of interaction occurred and the Portsmouth fans came over to the Plymouth fans side and come up the stairs.
“It is that group that Mr Yendle launches himself into,” he said. “The only person who is seen to suffer an injury is Mr Yendle frankly.
“The people he ‘interacted’ with are all relatively young, twentysomething males who all seem to be cheerfully engaging in whatever takes place.”
He said the incident lasted less than 60 seconds and when the police arrive, everybody disappears.
He said Yendle was a hard working man who very much regretted what had happened.
He said a football ban would affect him significantly and was perhaps the biggest punishment the court could impose on him.
Imposing the three year ban, magistrates told Yendle that being a football fan all his life made him jumping into the opposition more inexplicable and he should’ve known better considering his age.
As well as the ban Yendle was also given a 12 month community order and ordered to carry out 15 days of unpaid work, pay costs of £85 and a surcharge of £114.
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