Steve Allinson banned for trying to steal Goodison seats

Steve Allinson, formerly Chairman of Everton Shareholders Association, has been banned from Hill Dickinson Stadium for at least this season after he was charged with trying to take seats from Goodison Park at the penultimate home games last season as a memento.

Allinson was a prominent Everton supporter in the early days of the internet,  amongst other things providing a fantastic service to displaced and overseas fans in helping them get tickets for Everton games.   

He was charged with attempted theft and criminal damage and appeared before Liverpool Crown Court on Wednesday 1 October. But the prosecution decided to drop the case and 'not guilty' verdicts were recorded. However, the club has banned him from Everton's new ground until "at least" the end of the season.

"The prosecution do not intend to proceed. I submit that there is evidence on which he could have been convicted," said Mr Iain Criddle, prosecuting.

"The defendant was captured on CCTV. The prosecution would say that this showed him attempting to remove seats and causing damage. Given the payment of the money to Everton in the Community, given the circumstances in which the offence was allegedly committed and the harm caused, the prosecution would take the view that it would not be in the public interest to proceed with this."

Judge Neil Flewitt KC said that he "presumably didn't want to pay £90 that the club was charging". Jonathan Duffy, defending, said his client and other supporters had "tried to remove an entire row of seats by removing bolts from the framework".

Mr Criddle said: "It is a rather daft thing for a 65-year-old man to find himself in a crown court for. There has been an informal resolution, which involved Mr Allinson agreeing to pay some money to Everton's charity.

"They are happy with that as a resolution, and the prosecution is happy with that as a resolution. The defendant has now been banned from the new stadium until at least the end of the season."

Judge Flewitt, who earlier noted that the "Crown Court was rather busy with more serious cases", therefore recorded formal 'not guilty' verdicts against Allinson and said: "I am not in any way condoning what he did, but it is inconceivable that this case will ever see the light of day again. I am going to direct that not guilty verdicts be recorded in this case. Mr Allinson, you are free to go."

Quotes sourced from Daily Star

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