Bo'ness United fan banned for launching pyro at Morton game

Bo'ness United supporter Max Grieve lobbed the firework onto the field during the Lowland League side's Scottish Cup third round tie at Cappielow Park last year.

Grieve, 20 - a policing and criminology student - now has a criminal record after pleading guilty to endangering players and officials at the Greenock ground.

Max Grieve (Image: Facebook)

Greenock Sheriff Court heard that Grieve was caught on CCTV hurling the pyro from the away end near the start of his team's 4-0 loss to the Ton on November 25.

Security staff within the CCTV control room at the stadium were alerted to the incident at around 3pm on the day and footage captured him climbing down a row of seats and lobbing the lit firework.

Grieve was asked to leave the ground by stewards before police officers arrested him.

READ MORE: Greenock man made sexual comments to officer after 'drink driving' crash arrest

Appearing in the dock without a solicitor, Edinburgh Napier undergraduate Grieve said another fan had brought the item into Cappielow but he threw it onto the field.

Sheriff Euan Cameron asked what led him to behave in the 'fairly uncharacteristic' manner, to which Grieve replied: "It was just a very big day out for us. We got a big bus to the game together.

"I think it was just the excitement of the day.

"As soon as I threw it onto the pitch the instant regret just hit me."

The second year student said he was 'scared' coming out of the stadium and when he was apprehended by police as he had 'never been in this situation before'.

Sheriff Cameron described the incident as a 'moment of madness' that had 'put players and officials at risk'.

The first offender said: "I understand that, I am a footballer myself and I played at quite a high level.

"If I was a player and that came towards me I would be not very happy at all."

Grieve, from Bo'ness, was fined £200 payable within 28 days and a six-month football banning order was imposed.