Stewards ‘pushed fan down stairs’

Mark Roberts

A MANCHESTER derby clash turned nasty when a City fan was pushed down the stairs by stewards at Old Trafford, a court heard.

Peter Sweeney, who broke his left heel and his right leg, spent three months in hospital and six months in a wheelchair following the incident on April 20 last year.

Mark Roberts, of George Street, Shaw, and Paul Stringer, of Runcorn, both deny charges of causing grievous bodily harm and an alternative charge of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

Manchester’s Minshull Street Crown Court heard how Mr Sweeney (47) was ejected from the stadium when he was caught smoking in the toilets.

He bought another ticket outside and made his way back in to the ground where he was spotted by Roberts (46) and Stringer (45).

It is alleged that as the stewards were escorting Mr Sweeney out of the ground for a second time, they pushed him down a flight of stairs after he called Stringer a paedophile.

As he landed, he broke his left heel and right leg, but was “dragged” down another flight of stairs and chucked out of the ground despite “screaming in agony”, the court heard.

Mark Monaghan, prosecuting, said that Mr Sweeney had lost his temper as he was being led out for the second time and insulted the stewards but that this did not justify what happened next.

He added: “The prosecution say that both defendants together pushed Mr Sweeney down the steps and that fact that they acted together is supported by the CCTV footage that was recorded on the Manchester United cameras.”

In police interviews, Roberts and Stringer said that Mr Sweeney, who drank a pint and a half of Guinness and black before kick off, had “lost his balance and fallen”.

Mr Sweeney told the jury: “I was walking along and he pushed me in the back. I said don’t push me and he said he could use reasonable force.

“I said you can only use reasonable force if I object and I said I wasn’t objecting, I was walking along.”

At the top of the stairs Mr Sweeney admitted that he had called Stringer a paedophile.

Asked why he said this, Mr Sweeney said: “Because I was angry, because he was throwing me out of the ground and because he was being a bully.”

He said that he “virtually flew” when he was pushed by the stairs and landed half way down, hitting his nose against the wall.

He added: “I was in agony, they stood me up and I screamed again because I couldn’t stand up. I had broken both my legs. I spent three months in hospital and six months in a wheelchair.”

He said the pair “didn’t do a single thing” as he screamed in pain but simply dragged him down the other flight of stairs and threw him out of the ground.

After seeking medical treatment, he was taken to the Manchester Royal Infirmary where his legs were x-rayed.

Before the case opened, jurors were warned by the judge to put aside any football allegiances and to not view the evidence “through either red or blue-tinted spectacles.”

The trial, expected to last three days, continues.