| Football hooligan 'generals' jailed over pre-match clash |
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Two football hooligan "generals" have been jailed for planning a pre-match clash between rival fans.
Andrew Frain, 36, was given seven years and Jason Marriner, 33, received six years. They were also convicted of taking part in a far-right bid to disrupt a Bloody Sunday commemorative march. London's Blackfriars Crown Court heard that the men, arrested after being targeted by undercover BBC investigator Donal MacIntyre, regarded such violence as "fun" and the best way to get their "kicks". The men were secretly filmed in a Mercedes discussing plans for a pre-arranged punch-up between Chelsea and Leicester City supporters. At one point, Frain was heard referring to his nickname - Nightmare - and relishing the fear opponents would feel when they learnt he "was on the loose in Leicester". At another point in the footage, Marriner was heard boasting: "We have got about three coaches going and a minibus. It's sorted. It's naughty. Leicester will be naughty." Neither Marriner, of Hampton Road, Feltham, west London, nor Frain or Granville Road, Reading, Berkshire, showed any reaction as the jury returned majority guilty verdicts against them on one count of conspiring to commit violent disorder between August 15 and November 22 1998, and a second charge of affray on January 30 last year. Both remained motionless as Judge Charles Byers passed sentence, branding them both as "dangerous men" who "relish violence".
Ananova |