Steve Allinson, formerly Chairman of Everton Shareholders Association, has been banned from Hill Dickinson Stadium for at least this season after he was charged with trying to take seats from Goodison...
Steve Allinson, formerly Chairman of Everton Shareholders Association, has been banned from Hill Dickinson Stadium for at least this season after he was charged with trying to take seats from Goodison Park at the penultimate home games last season as a memento.
Allinson was a prominent Everton supporter in the early days of the internet, amongst other things providing a fantastic service to displaced and overseas fans in helping them get tickets for Everton games.
He was charged with attempted theft and criminal damage and appeared before Liverpool Crown Court on Wednesday 1 October. But the prosecution decided to drop the case and 'not guilty' verdicts were recorded. However, the club has banned him from Everton's new ground until "at least" the end of the season.
"The prosecution do not intend to proceed. I submit that there is evidence on which he could have been convicted," said Mr Iain Criddle, prosecuting.
"The defendant was captured on CCTV. The prosecution would say that this showed him attempting to remove seats and causing damage."
Judge Neil Flewitt KC said that he "presumably didn't want to pay £90 that the club was charging". Jonathan Duffy, defending, said his client and other supporters had "tried to remove an entire row of seats by removing bolts from the framework".
Mr Criddle said: "It is a rather daft thing for a 65-year-old man to find himself in a crown court for. There has been an informal resolution, which involved Mr Allinson agreeing to pay some money to Everton's charity.
"They are happy with that as a resolution, and the prosecution is happy with that as a resolution. The defendant has now been banned from the new stadium until at least the end of the season."
Category: General Sports
