TWO MEN who violently assaulted a Celtic fan and left him with a bleed on the brain have been sentenced to more than three years in prison.
Rangers supporters Jordan James Adam, 27, and Richard Love, 26, both pleaded guilty to the serious assault of the victim, as well as to threatening and abusive behaviour.
In a statement on Friday, a spokesperson for British Transport Police, who carried out the investigation, described football-related violence as ‘utterly unacceptable’.
Attack
The court heard how, on February 2, 2022, Adam and Love were travelling home from a football game between Rangers and Celtic and had boarded a train at Glasgow Queen Street.
Celtic had earlier defeated Rangers 3-0.
The victim, a man in his 40s, got on the same train at Shettleston railway station and sat behind Adam and Love.
The pair started to sing football chants, which turned abusive, and a verbal altercation began.
Shortly afterwards, Adam lunged toward the victim and attacked him.
Love then punched the victim in the head and upper body before the pair were physically removed from the victim by other passengers.
After they were separated, the victim moved to the next carriage.
However, when the victim left the train at Easterhouse railway station, Love immediately ran towards him and knocked him to the ground.
He proceeded to punch the victim repeatedly while they were on the ground before Adam ran over, stamping on the victim’s head and knocking him unconscious.
The victim was taken to hospital, where a CT scan showed he had a bleed on the brain as well as bruising to the right side of the brain.
The injuries will require long-term specialist input and will affect his ability to drive.
Banning orders
Adam and Love pleaded guilty to the charges at Glasgow Sheriff Court on January 30.
At the same court on February 20, they were each sentenced to three years and nine months’ imprisonment
The two men were also handed seven-year Football Banning Orders.
Speaking on Friday, investigating officer DC Thomas Gallagher described the attack as ‘senseless violence’.
“The sentence handed out underscores that violence tied to football and religious animosity is utterly unacceptable,” he said.
“We hold a firm stance against such behaviour in any setting, and I hope that the result in this case demonstrates that senseless violence will not be tolerated.”