A football fan has admitted to drinking five cans of lager before launching himself from the upper tier of a stand onto rival supporters below, leaving a woman injured.
Ipswich Crown Court heard on Monday how John Ryan, 62, ‘deliberately threw himself’ towards a section of home supporters at Ipswich’s Portman Road ground while supporting Maidstone United during an FA Cup clash in January 2024.
Ryan was among more than 4,000 travelling fans who had travelled to Suffolk for the cup fixture, which kicked off at 12.30pm. He denies two counts of assault by beating and one count of actual bodily harm.
Prosecutor Simon Gladwell told the court that Ryan had consumed five cans of lager before the lunchtime kick off.
CCTV and social media footage of the incident was displayed in court, showing jurors how Ryan rolled onto the roof of the lower stands, before rolling off the end of it onto the crowd below.
Ryan claimed the wall was so low he ‘could not stop himself’ from falling, adding that he did not know whether he had been pushed.
A football fan, 62, has been accused of deliberately launching himself at rival fans from a roof
‘He deliberately – effectively – threw himself on the roof to roll down it,’ Gladwell countered.
‘It was a deliberate action, and he was at the very least reckless as to what injury he would cause.’
Ryan landed on Joanne Peters, who suffered internal bruising and a trapped nerve, while her partner Aaron Ruse was left with ‘soreness and stiffness’.
The trial continues.
