Fan jailed for hitting player

STEVENAGE, England (AP):

A fan who punched a player during a pitch invasion has been jailed for 12 weeks and banned from attending football matches in England and Wales for six years.

Robert Fitzgerald ran on to the pitch and floored Stevenage defender Scott Laird with a right hook after the club's 3-1 win over Newcastle in a televised FA Cup third-round match on January 8.

Fitzgerald targeted Laird because the player previously had a relationship with the 24-year-old supporter's current girlfriend.

Chairwoman Linda Nadauld told a court in Stevenage the "unprovoked and unexpected" attack was fuelled by alcohol.

Nadauld says "The court must impose a deterrent sentence to stop this type of behaviour and conduct on a football field."