a footballer from margate conviction quashed

[hartgeman]

Football foul conviction quashed

An amateur footballer who was convicted of grievous bodily harm after a rival player's leg was broken during a tackle has had his conviction quashed.

The case arose after Mr Barnes, 38, of Margate, Kent, fouled Christopher Bygraves in the Thanet and District Sunday League game in December 2002.

 

Mr Barnes was convicted in October 2003 and given 240 hours community service.

 

But at the Court of Appeal on Tuesday the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Woolf, ruled the conviction was "unsafe".

 

 

During Mr Barnes' trial at Canterbury Crown Court the prosecution said the injury was the result of a "crushing tackle, which was late, unnecessary, reckless and high up the legs".

 

'Sufficiently grave'

 

Mr Barnes, who played for the Punch Judy team was sent off by the referee for the tackle, but later told the court it was "a fair, if hard" challenge.

 

But he was found guilty and ordered to pay Mr Bygraves, who played for Minster FC, £2,609.

 

However, ruling the conviction unsafe, Lord Woolf said: "The issue which this appeal raises is an important one.

 

"It goes to the heart of the question of when it is appropriate for criminal proceedings to be instituted after an injury is caused to one player by another player in the course of a sporting event, such as a football match."

 

'Necessary threshold'

 

He said a criminal prosecution should be reserved for "those situations where the conduct is sufficiently grave to be properly categorised as criminal".

 

Lord Woolf sitting with Mr Justice Cresswell and Mr Justice Simon ruled the judge's summing up in Mr Barnes' trial had been inadequate and therefore the conviction was unsafe.

 

"It should have been pointed out to the jury that even if the offending contact was a foul, it was still necessary for them to determine whether it could be anticipated in a normal game of football," Lord Woolf added.

[hartgeman]

i think this was a good thing for football.

as if this had stood and used in all games this would have meant that the tackel on cisse would have ended up with a criminal prosicution, the same for the tackle on green and just think about roy keane he would have been in jail years ago.

[Cookie]

Hartgeman,was this from a newspaper like all the rest of the posts you put on here? Am totally thankful to you for passing on information like this from the press but it does need to be said that some of us actually DO buy these papers too.

I realise that you are only trying to keep us up to speed but every item from every newspaper word for word isnt always nessasary. Cheers anyway.

Now if you get something really new then by all means inform us. I for one would be extremely grateful.

[hartgeman]

it just came in on bbc.co.uk/kent news and ii just copy an pasted this. it only came in an hour ago and was intrested in peoples opinions on this.(i put some of the things from the local when i get it as not every body who surpports margate lives in thanet)

[Hornet]

Good point. There's quite a few exiles out there.

[Cookie]

Fair enough. Point taken!