Coleraine football hooligan has lodged appeal against three-year Banning Order

James Harvey Shaw (18), with an address listed on court papers as Mount Street Mews in Coleraine, was granted bail in the sum of £500 for appeal at Ballymena Magistrates' Court on Thursday and a date has yet to be fixed for the appeal to be heard but it is expected to be several weeks away.

The lodging of the appeal came ahead of Coleraine's League Cup Final against Linfield in Belfast on Sunday March 12.

The defendant recently pleaded guilty to charges of assault and disorderly behaviour in relation to trouble outside Larne's Inver Park stadium after the home side beat Coleraine 2-0 in a league match.

At court on Thursday, a defence lawyer said the appeal did not relate to the conviction and sentence but to the Football Banning Order.

Recently, Ballymena Court heard Coleraine fan Shaw attacked a Larne supporter following a Northern Ireland Football League match and was given a three year Football Banning Order.

Shaw (18) admitted assault and being disorderly near Larne's Inver Park stadium on Saturday October 1 last year. Larne won the match 2-0 and afterwards trouble erupted outside the ground.

A prosecutor had said that around 7.30pm on October 1 police "noted a commotion" at Inver Road following the match between Larne and Coleraine. "About eight to ten young males, believed to be Coleraine fans, were in the middle of the road walking towards the town and the police observed a number of bottles being thrown towards the Larne fans who were walking on the footpath".

The prosecutor said some of the "males dispersed" when police arrived on the scene but officers managed to speak to two males believed to have been involved. A Larne fan then approached police saying bottles had been thrown at home fans and he was "punched in the face" by Shaw in a "completely unprovoked" attack.

Shaw told police he had "thrown a bottle" but initially denied assaulting the victim. However, later he said he couldn't remember if he had punched the victim or not due to his "intoxication".

The prosecutor said Shaw met the criteria for a Football Banning Order as he had been at the match. She said the minimum time limit for such an Order is three years but it can rise to six years if someone is jailed.

A defence barrister had said the defendant, who had a previously clear record, had turned 18 a couple of months before the incident and Shaw had told a Probation Officer of his "shame and regret" over the trouble.

The court heard the defendant has another court case due relating to "flares at a Ballymena Coleraine match at the Showgrounds in Ballymena."

District Judge Nigel Broderick had told the defendant the Larne incident was serious and involved an assault and a "high-end case" of disorderly behaviour.

As a "direct alternative to imprisonment" the judge ordered the defendant to do 120 hours of Community Service.

The three-year Football Banning Order was also handed down which does not expire until March 2, 2026.