Four men have been convicted of a Public Order Act offence after an investigation by the Metropolitan Police and slapped with a £200 fine and are banned from attending future football matches.
The men were found to have shouted homophobic comments and actions at a West Ham Match in early 2020.
Police investigated reports of several men shouting homophobic comments or making homophobic actions towards visiting supporters at the West Ham v Brighton & Hove Albion game on 1 February 2020.
Two men were arrested during the fixture at the London Stadium on the day of the game.
Thomas Hill, 25 of Slough and Samuel Marshall, 21 of Hornchurch appeared on 3 September at Thames Magistrates’ Court. They pleaded guilty to an offence under Section 5 of the Public Order Act and were each fined £200 plus costs.
The investigation continued and two other men were summonsed.
On 30 September at Thames Magistrates’ Court, Damian Critten, 24, of Rainham and Jack Wood, 25 of London both pleaded guilty to an offence under Section 5 of the Public Order Act. They were each fined £120 and given three-year football banning orders.
Chief Inspector Chris Green of Met Operations said, “This investigation and these convictions show that we will not tolerate homophobic behaviour or hate crime at football matches and more broadly in our city.
“If you have information about people committing these type of despicable offences, please share that information with police. These offenders may happen to support the same football team as you, but they do not deserve your support.”
