Football ‘fan’ banned from matches after homophobic chants during Premier League game

A man arrested for homophobic chanting during the Wolves vs Chelsea match in April has been banned from attending football matches for three years.

Liam Duce, 24, appeared at Dudley Magistrates Court on 15 June where he pleaded guilty to using threatening or abusive words and behaviour.

This is after Duce was arrested for homophobic chanting at a football fixture on 8 April this year at Molineux Stadium in Wolverhampton where a Premier League game took place between the home team and Chelsea.

Duce, of High Park Crescent, Sedgley, was punished for his homophobic abuse with a three-year football banning order and fined £461.

PC Stuart Ward, football hate crime officer from West Midlands Police, said: “There is no place for discrimination in football, or society in general, and we will always fully investigate any reports we receive.

“There is no place for homophobia in football or society in general.”

PC Ward was appointed the UK’s first dedicated hate crime officer based within a football unit two years ago.

He is leading police attempts to stamp out racist and homophobic abuse – both at football games and online – aimed at footballers and fans.

As part of his role he engages with other bodies such as Kick It Out who combat abuse and hate crime, and he also visits schools to talk to pupils about the negative impact of discriminatory behaviour upon victims.