A football fan has been banned from every ground in the country for six years after a fight in Colchester High Street.
David Gurney was also jailed for five months and told to surrender his passport before England away games.
The 31-year-old was told by a Chelmsford Crown Court judge that people were fed up with football violence.
Gurney, of Tollgate Drive, Stanway, got involved in a fight with Reading fans in the town centre on August 17, 2001, David Holborn, prosecuting, told the court.
He was hit and fell to the ground but was seen to get up and hit a man before leaving the scene, the court heard.
Gurney admitted a charge of affray when he appeared in court for sentence. Nick Ham, mitigating, said Gurney got a kicking from the Reading fans during the incident.
He also explained why it had taken so long for the matter to come to court.
"He had been associating with the fans known as the Barsiders but was on the fringes of the group and this is why it took so long to identify him," Mr Ham said.
He regretted his actions and wanted to put the matter behind him, Mr Ham said.
Published Friday, January 21, 2005
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