Shoreham man amongst five banned following Euro violence

A man from Shoreham and four other Sussex residents have been given lengthy banning orders following an outbreak of violence at the Euro 2016 tournament in France.

The Brighton and Hove Albion supporters were among a group of about a dozen English fans who were involved in a confrontation with Russian fans at a square in Marseille.

The incident occurred at about 2pm on 11 June, just hours before England played Russia in their first game of the tournament, which itself started the previous day.

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Gavin Sweet, Jake Stroeykens, Liam Shorten and Sheridan Hawkes were all seen by English football spotters, working in France, to confront Russian fans and engage in disorder.

After being identified by Surrey and Sussex Police’s dedicated football officers, the suspects were each served with a notice to appear at Crawley Magistrates’ Court on Monday 27 June.

Sweet, 35, of South Coast Road, Peacehaven, and Hawkes, 26, of Kingston Way, Shoreham, who were both caught on camera throwing street furniture at the Russians, each received a Football Banning Order (FBO) for the maximum term of five years; Stroeykens, 24, of Windlesham Close, Portslade, and Shorten, 23, of Old Shoreham Road, Southwick, were each banned for three years.

Lee Thornton, 26, of Elm Grove, Brighton, was also identified as part of the group and banned for three years at Crawley Magistrates’ Court on Thursday 30 June.

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None of the defendants contested the decision of the court to impose the FBOs.

Chief inspector, Justina Beeken, said: “Before the tournament we warned football fans that disruption and disorder on any level – whether at home or abroad – will not be tolerated.

“These individuals either failed to take note of our advice or they chose to completely ignore it and they only have themselves to blame for the lengthy bans they have been hit with.

“It’s disappointing because they have tarnished the reputation of the many British fans who travelled to France to support their team, the vast majority of whom have been extremely well behaved.

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“But by acting quickly and robustly, we have prevented these hooligans from travelling back to France to cause more trouble. Their actions will also affect them for many years to come.”

The individuals came to the attention of police who captured their actions on camera while under cover in Marseille.

Through the English policing delegation in France, information and intelligence was sent to the UK to be reviewed by the UK Football Policing Unit.

As part of the Football Banning Orders, the five men are not permitted to attend any regulated football match in the UK for the duration of the ban.

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Hawkes, Sweet, Stroeykens and Shorten and are all subject to the following conditions:

Not to go within one mile of Brighton railway station four hours before and four hours after kick-off of any home fixture;

Not to go within one mile of the Amex Stadium four hours before and four hours after kick-off of any home fixture;

Not to go to the town or city where Brighton and Hove Albion FC play an away fixture on that date;

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Not to go to the town or city where the England national team play outside of London on that date;

Not to go within one mile of Wembley Stadium when the England national team play any fixture at that stadium on that date.

Thornton is subject to the following conditions:

Not to go to The Railway Bell pub, The Royal Standard pub or West Street in Brighton four hours before and four hours after kick-off of any Brighton fixture;

Not to go within one mile of the Amex Stadium four hours before and four hours after kick-off of any home fixture, except for work;

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Not to go to the town or city where Brighton and Hove Albion FC play an away fixture on that date;

Not to go to the town or city where the England national team play outside of London on that date;

Not to go within one mile of Wembley Stadium when the England national team play any fixture at that stadium on that date.