YORK City fan Can Mustafa Hussein reacted angrily when home fans threw stones as he waited to enter Lincoln City's Sincil Bank ground, a court heard.

Lincoln magistrates were told that police were on duty at the match when a group of 60 supporters from York and a group from Lincoln began to confront each other.

"Missiles were thrown and when Hussein threw one, he was arrested," Mr Broomhead said.

Hussein, aged 21, of Middleton Road, Acomb, York, admitted using threatening behaviour on April 19.

Roisin McCaffrey, for Hussein, urged the bench not to impose a football banning order because Hussein had never been in trouble before and only reacted to provocation.

She said: "He was waiting to get into the ground when a group of Lincoln City fans threw stones at York supporters from across the canal. He was angry when one of them hit him in full view of the police who did nothing about it and so he picked up a small stone and threw it back."

Magistrates said because Hussein has no previous convictions, and he was responding to aggression shown towards him, they would not impose the banning order, although they viewed football violence seriously. He was conditionally discharged for 12 months and ordered to pay £55 costs.

Updated: 11:11 Thursday, May 01, 2003