Two men were yesterday jailed for six months suspended for a year and banned from entering any stadium until the end of the year after they pleaded guilty to participating in incidents that broke out last Saturday during the match between Birkirkara and Valletta.

The men are Glenn Gatt, 21, from Birkirkara, and Marco Barbara, 46, also from Birkirkara.

The court, presided over by Magistrate Antonio Mizzi, heard how the incidents broke out when the police saw Gatt firing a flare into the ground while the game was still being played. When the police approached him, Barbara intervened and incited people against the police who approached Gatt.

Gatt and Barbara admitted to assaulting two police inspectors, a police sergeant and several other police officers, threatening them, disobeying police orders, breaching the peace, swearing and using foul language in public and offending the police. Gatt alone admitted to firing the flare without a licence.

Handing down his judgement, Magistrate Mizzi told the accused that people go to the stadium to enjoy themselves. He said he is fed up of presiding over cases of incidents at football grounds and said that if need be, he will start jailing people responsible for these incidents.

He jailed the men for six months suspended for one year and ordered them not to enter any stadium until the end of the year. Gatt was fined Lm50 for firing the flare.

Police Inspectors Nezren Grixti and Mario Tonna prosecuted while Dr Chris Cardona appeared for the accused.