Dons fan fined over throwing microphone at Hearts match

October was a busy month for Hearts football club with five games to be played, three of them at Tynecastle.

At Edinburgh Sheriff Court today, 30th November two fans, one, a Hearts supporter and the other, an Aberdeen fan, appeared and pled guilty to offences inside and outside the stadium.

Dons fan, 47-year old Shane Bell from Lochinch Gardens, Cove, was fined £1000 and banned from attending matches for six months, after pleading guilty to culpably and recklessly throwing a microphone which struck James Dunn, the Jambos' centre-half, during the game with Aberdeen on October 20.

Fiscal Depute, Alan Morrison, told Sheriff Robert Weir QC that the ball had gone out of play at the area where Bell was seated. "At this point, " he said "the accused took hold of a media microphone, threw it towards the pitch and it struck James Dunn on the body".

Defence solicitor, Andrew Houston, explained that the ball had been deflected after a corner kick to Hearts and bounced in the direction of his client, who was sitting at the front of the stand behind advertising hoarding. Bell, he said, had reached for the ball, but could not get it, picked up the microphone and tripod and threw it at the ball. "It just happened that Mr Dunn was in the process of returning the ball", he said. Dunn, he told Sheriff Weir, was a lifelong Aberdeen supporter and had travelled down in a dedicated bus.

When the Aberdeen Security Officer heard of the incident he contacted Dunn, who went to the police and told them he had acted in "two seconds of stupidity" adding: "I picked it up and threw it. I didn't mean to hit anyone". Dunn was allowed to pay the fine at £50 a month.

The Hearts' fan, 25-year old Kevin Sutherland of Stenhouse Gardens, Edinburgh, admitted acting in a culpable and reckless manner by using a flare in Slateford Road, and endangering traffic and pedestrians in a heavily congested area on October 31 when Hearts were playing Hibs.

Mr Morrison said Sutherland was part of a group of fellow supporters and they began to set off flares. "Police saw the accused holding a smoking device in his right hand" he said. "Smoke was drifting across the road which was busy with supporters and traffic. Police took hold of his arm and forced him away from the crowd".

Kenneth Cloggie, appearing for Sutherland, said his client had been told by other members of his group that "it was an appropriate place to set off a flare". "That is something he should have known it was not". Sutherland, he added, had not previous convictions.

Sheriff Weir placed Sutherland on a Community Payback Order to carry out 70 hours of unpaid work within three months.