A respected youth football coach, who exposed his penis at rival fans during a moment of "sheer stupidity", has been banned from attending organised football matches for the next three years.
Keith Steinmetz, 58, a lifelong Newcastle United supporter, flashed at Tottenham fans when the clubs played at Wembley Stadium on 9th May 2018.
Steinmetz previously pleaded guilty to one count of indecent exposure and a public order offence. He was sentenced to a six month community order and fined £600. The case was adjourned until last week for the Crown to apply for a football banning order.
Brian Payne, prosecuting, said the order was necessary to help "prevent violence and disorder" at future matches.
He told the court: "This case involves the deliberate exposure of the defendant's penis at the opposing fans at Wembley Stadium. He's a Newcastle fan.
"He was fairly rapidly detained and subsequently interviewed. He was asked how much he had to drink and he said he’d drank between six and seven pints between 4 pm and 9 pm."
Jonathan Stirland, mitigating, said Steinmetz was "gutted, disappointed, angry and embarrassed with himself".
"He's not someone who is a risk of violence in the future. This is a one-off in relation to disorder.
"He will be a church mouse when he goes to matches in the future. He will ensure he won't drink at all and ignore any goading."
District Judge Bernard Begley, sitting at North Tyneside Magistrates' Court, agreed with the Crown and granted the order.
"I obviously take into account what's said about your personal background," District Judge Begley said.
"The problem I have is that, with all that background with football, at an away ground, despite that unblemished background, you actually did something like this.
"That's what I'm struggling with. It may well be a one-off but nobody would have thought you would have done it in the first place.
"It’s a fairly dramatic set of circumstances, for which you have been separately punished, and I don’t lose sight of that but, bearing in mind the nature of the offending and how dramatic it was, it’s my view that the order is appropriate."
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