Fulham fan injured steward with flare

A teenage Fulham fan injured a steward when he hurled a smoke bomb towards the pitch after watching his club win promotion to the Premier League, a court heard. George Vassiliou, 18, struck Simon Patrick Bates with the flare after his team beat Preston North End 3-0 at Craven Cottage on 19 April. Nathan Paine-Davey, prosecuting, said: ‘Mr Vassiliou was in the audience and at about 9.30pm he struck [the complainant] with what appeared to be a smoke bomb. ‘The…