Football fans who hurled abuse at Celtic player handed football ban

Hampden Park
Published 20th Sep 2023

Two Hibernian fans who racially abused a Celtic player at a Scottish League Cup final have been slapped with a football ban. Kevin Johnston, 31, and David Goodfellow, 28, hurled the vile comments at Hampden Park on December 19 2021.

Hibs played Celtic that day in which the Edinburgh side lost 2-1 with Japanese striker Kyogo Furuhashi netting the winning goals.

Glasgow Sheriff Court heard that the pair made remarks any time an unnamed Celtic player had the ball or came into play.

Prosecutor Gemma Barclay said: "They made remarks such as 'He is a c***y' and repeatedly referred to him as that."

A nearby woman confronted Johnston and Goodfellow and asked them to stop using that language.

The woman added: "There is no place for racism in football."

However, the pair continued with their behaviour.

A man then asked them to stop using the language but Johnston told him to "shut the f up you old c."

Johnston and Goodfellow continued to shout at the man and the woman.

The police were informed and both men were ejected from the stadium.

The Edinburgh based pair pled guilty to behaving in a threatening or abusive manner aggravated by racial prejudice.

Sheriff Patricia Pryce ordered Johnston to do 180 hours of unpaid work.

Goodfellow - who is unable to do unpaid work - was tagged for nine weeks keeping him indoors between 7pm and 7am.

Both men are also subject to a football banning order for one year.

The sheriff said: "It is a very serious matter and can cause real problems at football - both of you will have seen that before."

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