A HIBERNIAN supporter who launched a smoke grenade onto the pitch during an Edinburgh derby match has been fined.
Christopher Givan threw the device onto the Easter Road pitch from his position in the stadium’s East Stand earlier this year.
Givan was caught on CCTV igniting the smoke grenade and throwing it over the heads of fellow supporters onto the side of the pitch as Hibs clashed with city rivals Hearts during a Scottish Cup tie.
He was arrested along with his daughter Tori Bathgate, 19, as the pair attempted to leave the stadium following his team’s 3-0 loss to the Jambos on January 22.
Givan, of North Bank Road, Prestonpans, and Ms Bathgate, of the same address, both appeared in the dock at Edinburgh Sheriff Court last week to plead guilty to two offences.
The pair told Sheriff Christopher Dickson that they were representing themselves and were both willing to plead guilty to the offences.
But after the father and daughter had a brief consultation with a lawyer, the Crown said it was accepting not guilty pleas from Ms Bathgate and she was allowed to leave the dock without a conviction.
Sheriff Dickson was told that Givan had been banned from attending football matches at Easter Road by club officials for an indefinite period and decided not to issue a football banning order.
The sheriff imposed a total fine of £520 on 38-year-old Givan.
Givan pleaded guilty to possessing a smoke grenade at Easter Road Stadium, Albion Road, Edinburgh, on January 22.
He also admitted to a charge of culpably and recklessly igniting a grenade and throwing it onto the pitch, which could have caused serious injury to those in the crowd or on the playing surface, on the same date.
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