Ex-Newcastle player banned from all football stadiums has punishment lifted
Former Newcastle United midfielder Andy Ferrell has seen his banning order overturned.
Ferrell, 39, was one of four men given a three-year ban from all football stadiums in the UK after they were involved in a disturbance with Chelsea supporters before the Premier League clash at St James’ Park last November.
The incident occurred outside the Black and White Bull pub, where Ferrell and fellow Magpies season ticket holder Liam Webster, also 39, had been enjoying a pre-match meal roughly 90 minutes before kick-off.
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As per The Chronicle, they were interrupted by a bottle being thrown through a window, which showered them in glass. A young autistic boy known to Ferrell and Webster then came running inside asking for help, at which point they ventured outside.
CCTV caught the former throwing a chair and he was later arrested, while Webster turned himself in. The pair appeared at Newcastle Crown Court on Friday (May 12) to appeal the banning orders they received at Newcastle Magistrates’ Court in March.
(Image: Sunday Sun)
And they succeeded, with Recorder Benjamin Nolan KC, saying: “There is no evidence that this violence related to the football match that afternoon.
“Neither of these gentlemen were heard or seen to make any football related abuse or slogans. Police attended the scene but it was all over upon arrival.”
Reacting to the news, Ferrell said: “I don’t think I should have got penalised for self-defence. I have never gone to a football match in my life looking for trouble.”
(Image: Sunday Sun)
Ferrell signed a professional deal with Newcastle in December of 2002 but never made a senior appearance for his hometown club.
He went on to have a career mainly in non-league football, most notably playing for Hereford United in League Two in the 2006/07 season.
And since hanging up his boots in 2016, he’s begun organising coaches for Newcastle’s away fixtures, which sees him maintain contact with the police.
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