Post by miz on Jan 11, 2007 13:07:48 GMT -1
A footballer has been jailed for hitting a rival player in the face during an FA Cup match.
Barrow defender James Cotterill, 24, pleaded guilty to punching Bristol Rovers striker Sean Rigg during a first round match on 11 November last year.
He was sentenced to four months in prison for GBH, at Preston Crown Court.
Cotterill is thought to be the first football player in recent history in England to be jailed for an offence which happened on the pitch.
Metal plates
The incident took place at the Conference North club Barrow's ground.
Cotterill fractured Mr Rigg's jaw in two places during the "highly charged" match. It now has to be held in place by metal plates for the rest of his life.
The court heard how Rigg, a League Two player, had to drink through a straw and eat with a teaspoon as a result of the punch.
The Football Association banned Cotterill from playing football until March of this year.
An interim suspension was imposed by the FA on 17 November due to the serious nature of the incident.
Television cameras captured the off-the-ball assault, which was shown that evening to millions of viewers on the BBC's Match of the Day programme.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=cd9vfxoGzcw
Barrow defender James Cotterill, 24, pleaded guilty to punching Bristol Rovers striker Sean Rigg during a first round match on 11 November last year.
He was sentenced to four months in prison for GBH, at Preston Crown Court.
Cotterill is thought to be the first football player in recent history in England to be jailed for an offence which happened on the pitch.
Metal plates
The incident took place at the Conference North club Barrow's ground.
Cotterill fractured Mr Rigg's jaw in two places during the "highly charged" match. It now has to be held in place by metal plates for the rest of his life.
The court heard how Rigg, a League Two player, had to drink through a straw and eat with a teaspoon as a result of the punch.
The Football Association banned Cotterill from playing football until March of this year.
An interim suspension was imposed by the FA on 17 November due to the serious nature of the incident.
Television cameras captured the off-the-ball assault, which was shown that evening to millions of viewers on the BBC's Match of the Day programme.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=cd9vfxoGzcw
