Football hooligan who caused chaos at nine venues and yelled abuse banned from matches

A yob who wreaked havoc at UK and European football grounds has been banned from matches for three years.

West Ham fan Liam Newton caused chaos at nine venues and claimed abuse between fans was commonplace and “just football”.

A court heard he was first arrested for fighting at Shalke during a 2014 German tour. In 2016 he yelled abuse at visiting Manchester United and Middlesbrough fans and was arrested for violent disorder at Tottenham.

In 2019 the dad-of-one clashed with Birmingham and Chelsea fans. Last year Newton, 32, was arrested in Croatia for fighting another Hammers fan.

This year he raced towards missile-throwing supporters in Lyon and fought fans in Frankfurt.

District judge John Law, sitting at Stratford magistrates court in east London, said: “He enjoys the camaraderie of being with other supporters in a risk group.

He added: “Nine times in eight years he has been in the middle of violent disorder.”

The lifelong West Ham fan, of Wickford, Essex, said the ban would be “a shock to the system”.