British youth banned from UK football matches after Malta pitch invasion

A teenage football fan who ran onto the pitch during an England World Cup qualifier against Malta in return for retweets has been banned from matches in the UK for three years.

The 16-year-old had told Twitter followers he would disrupt the game in return for 400 shares of his post.

The youngster from Peterborough who invaded the pitch during the game in September was subsequently banned from Maltese sporting facilities for a year by magistrate Joe Mifsud.

Once he hit the target, he climbed over security fencing during England's 4-0 victory in Malta on 1 September.

During the arraignment, police Inspector Elliott Magro told the court that officers ended up having to restrain other supporters from copying the young England fan.

The boy, who cannot be named by order of the court, wrote: Before the match, the boy had tweeted "400 retweets and I'll invade the Malta v England game" and later “I'll go live on instagram...everyone get there for the Malta V England pitch invasion #MalEng”

After running onto the pitch, he had stopped to speak with two England players before he was detained.

The youngster was held in custody overnight and was fined €200.

The next day he tweeted: "€200 fine, probably a life-time ban, a night in lockup and a one-year ban from Malta! Oh well it was worth it."

Although less than the lifetime ban he expected, the BBC reports that the youth was given a three-year football banning order at Huntingdon Youth Court on Friday.