A soccer thug accused of beating up a dad in front

A soccer thug accused of beating up a dad in front of his 13-year-old son before a game saw the charge against him dropped today.

(wed)

Neil Wallace, 34, a Chelsea FC fan was accused of beating up Man City rival Bob Black in a pub.

But the Crown offered no evidence against him on an assault charge after accepting his plea of guilty to affray in respect of the same incident.

Police investigating the notorious ‘Chelsea Headhunters’ hooligan gang had Wallace and a number of other fans under surveillance at various pubs near
Stamford Bridge.

Alisdair Williamson, prosecuting, said there were ‘evidential difficulties’ linking Wallace to the attack on Mr Black on December 3 last year.

Wallace and his cronies had been drinking in the Jolly Maltsters public house when his gang left to enter the Fulham Tup.

Inside a near-riot broke out as Wallace and his cohorts shouted: ‘Come on! Come on!’ to a group of Manchester City fans sitting among their families.

The Chelsea fans then grappled with the rival supporters – to the horror of the children present.

Mr Black, the secretary of his local supporters’ club in Levenhulme, Greater Manchester suffered a gash above his eye during the violence.

But he went to the game afterwards.

The court heard that Wallace had a 36-month ban imposed on him on 31 January this year under the Football Spectators’ Act banning him from attending
football matches.

Under his bail conditions he is also forbidden from attending licensed premises within one mile of any football ground, and must reside at his home
address of (189) Bicknor Road, Maidstone, Kent.

Wallace, who has receding hair with a patch of grey hair, is also subject to a curfew from 9pm to 5am each night.

Wallace, who admitted one count of affray, now faces sentence on July 20.

The Crown had offered no evidence on the other count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

ends