Racist football hooligan jailed

| Saturday, 27 August 2005 Source: Life Style Extra

A Neo Nazi thug who orchestrated a pitched battle between rival Aston Villa and Chelsea football hooligans was jailed for 18 months by a judge who branded him a "dangerous man."

Gareth Howells was part of a gang of 'Villa Youth' that descended on London for a match against Charlton Athletic on March 27 last year.

The 23-year-old convicted racist was already banned from the ground for previous football-related violence so he spent the day drinking around Kings Cross.

After the game, Villa and Chelsea fans met in Islington for a pre-arranged battle. Howells led "baying mobs" that left "innocent members of the public of all ages terrified."

Snaresbrook Crown Court heard that Howells has a string of previous convictions, including making a Nazi salute and screaming 'Sieg Heil' after being thrown out of a Birmingham nightclub.

He was also twice banned from football matches for three years after being convicted of football related violence incidents, including fighting rivals fans at an England v Wales match at Old Trafford on October 9 last year.

While his long list of convictions was read out skinhead Howells smirked as he sat in the dock.

But Judge William Kennedy blasted the chef as he sentenced him to 18 months behind bars for affray and banned him from football games for ten years.

Judge Kennedy said: "True supporters of football come from every walk of life. They are disciplined and law-abiding. They enrich the game in every way. They are the rock on which the game is built.

"But beneath that rock, as there has been the case beneath rocks since the dawn of time, lower life lurks.

"They are a tiny minority. They are the mindlessly violent, attaching themselves to the soft underbelly of football as a convenient rallying point.

"The game for them is but the means to an end. That end is serious public disorder, a crime which cannot and will not be tolerated.

"Your record is a great cause for concern. Two previous convictions for football related violence, others for naked racism. You are a dangerous man."

Howells, of Bacup, Lancashire, remained silent as he was led to the cells while his girlfriend remained outside the court throughout the hearing.