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Four plead guilty after rioting | |
(20 minutes later) | |
Four Polish men involved in rioting in Belfast on Saturday have admitted charges of disorderly behaviour at Laganside Magistrates Court. | |
It follows trouble on Saturday before, during and after a World Cup qualifier at Windsor Park between NI and Poland. | |
Three of the men were given two-month sentences, suspended for one year. | |
The case against the fourth man, who has also admitted having a firework without a licence, was adjourned until 27 April. | |
The three men who have already been given suspended sentences were Tomasz Bobrowicz, 30, from Suffolk, England, Przemyslaw Pawel Kusmierczyk, 28, from Liverpool, and Lukasz Szwajda, 22, from London. | |
The fourth man was Tomasz Jakobik, 26, from University Avenue in Belfast. | The fourth man was Tomasz Jakobik, 26, from University Avenue in Belfast. |
They were all arrested on Saturday afternoon after trouble flared inside a pub on Bedford Street in Belfast city centre. | They were all arrested on Saturday afternoon after trouble flared inside a pub on Bedford Street in Belfast city centre. |
The game should not have been played at a quarter past five on Saturday knowing the potential for trouble and the amount of alcohol that would be taken Councillor Bob Stoker | The game should not have been played at a quarter past five on Saturday knowing the potential for trouble and the amount of alcohol that would be taken Councillor Bob Stoker |
A police constable told the court he did not believe the four men had been involved in "anything orchestrated or pre-planned" and that they were "on the periphery of things". | A police constable told the court he did not believe the four men had been involved in "anything orchestrated or pre-planned" and that they were "on the periphery of things". |
Ulster Unionist Councillor Bob Stoker criticised the kickoff time. | Ulster Unionist Councillor Bob Stoker criticised the kickoff time. |
He said it should have started before 1715 GMT given the potential for trouble. | He said it should have started before 1715 GMT given the potential for trouble. |
"The game should not have been played at a quarter past five on Saturday knowing the potential for trouble and the amount of alcohol that would be taken," Mr Stoker said. | "The game should not have been played at a quarter past five on Saturday knowing the potential for trouble and the amount of alcohol that would be taken," Mr Stoker said. |
Eleven police officers were injured during the trouble which occurred at a number of various flashpoints in south Belfast. | Eleven police officers were injured during the trouble which occurred at a number of various flashpoints in south Belfast. |