Two football fans who were allegedly involved in a commotion at the Tony Bezzina stadium in Paola on Sunday, were granted bail after pleading not guilty.

Kerstin Falzon, 21, and Jake Attard, 19, from Birkirkara, were accused of insulting and threatening a police constable, violently resisting arrest as well as abusive behaviour.

Falzon, who turned up with his right foot in a cast and leaning on crutches, was also separately charged with slightly injuring the officer, wilfully damaging the holder of the policeman’s bodycam as well as committing such offences while under a conditional discharge.

It all began when some commotion broke out at the VIP stand during the Birkirkara-Santa Lucija match.

Police intervened to calm down a verbal slinging match, targeting the person who appeared to be at the heart of the trouble and escorting him out of the stands.

But that move seemed to upset the Birkirkara supporters who loudly protested against the police decision to remove a member of their club committee.

A constable approached a group of supporters who were allegedly hurling insults in the direction of Santa Lucija fans.

Some six fans turned against the officer who had to call for assistance, prompting intervention by the Rapid Response Team.

In the ensuing scuffle, the officer suffered slight injuries, prosecuting inspector Paul Camilleri explained in court.

Footage of the incident clearly revealed the involvement of Falzon and Attard in the incident, the court was told.

However, defence lawyer Richard Sladden countered that Attard had not offended anybody nor used physical force against anyone, but had simply left his seat to rush to the assistance of his 17-year old brother who got caught up in the commotion at the stands.

“Now if leaving one’s seat is an offence, then my client is guilty,” said Sladden.

Lawyer Franco Debono who is also assisting Attard, pointed out that the 19-year old had a clean criminal record, adding that the footage clearly showed that the youth had not assaulted anyone but simply ran to assist his younger brother.

Lawyer Noel Bianco, assisting Falzon, also argued that the youth had run to help his 17-year old friend who was allegedly involved in the commotion.

Falzon had also fully cooperated with investigators, the lawyer said.

After hearing submissions by both parties, the court, presided over by magistrate Monica Vella, upheld a request for bail against a deposit of €1000, a personal guarantee of €3000 each, signing of the bail book once weekly and an order not to approach any of the prosecution witnesses.

The court also issued a protection order in favour of the policeman allegedly involved in the incident, warning the accused to steer clear of any contact with the alleged victim. 

Inspector Paul Camilleri prosecuted.Lawyers Franco Debono, Richard Sladden and Noel Bianco were defence counsel.