Man ordered to pay Arsenal keeper Ramsdale over derby assault

[FILE] A steward attempts to calm unhappy Arsenal’s English goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale after the English Premier League football match between Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, on January 15, 2023. – Arsenal won the game 2-0. (Photo by ADRIAN DENNIS / AFP)

A spectator was on Friday ordered to pay compensation to Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale after admitting to assaulting him following last month’s north London derby against Tottenham Hotspur.

Joseph Watts, 35, jumped out of the crowd and lunged at Ramsdale with his foot as the 24-year-old goalkeeper went to retrieve his water bottle from behind the goal after Arsenal’s 2-0 win.

Tottenham fan Watts pleaded guilty at Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court near London to assault by beating, going on to an area adjacent to the playing area and throwing a missile on to a football playing area.

He was ordered to pay £100 (112 euros, $119) in compensation to Ramsdale and carry out 150 hours of unpaid work.

The pub worker from north London is also banned from attending football matches for four years.

The district judge sentencing Watts called the assault a “relatively short-lived, comprising a single blow”.

“It has had some psychological effect and he (Ramsdale) will have this in the back of his mind when he goes to work in the future,” added the judge.

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