A five-a-side footballer who broke an opponent’s jaw has been banned from playing the game by a sheriff.
Douglas McKerron landed himself in court after he saw red and punched another player on the pitch.
And yesterday Sheriff Andrew Miller heard the attack at Goals Soccer Centre was the second time the 40-year-old had been convicted of attacking a player during a game.
Sheriff Miller took the unusual step of telling McKerron he would be jailed if he plays any football in the next 12 months.
“When I say that, I mean you are not to take part in any kind of football above kicking a ball about with your children,” Sheriff Miller told Aberdeen Sheriff Court yesterday.
He added: “You need to accept your playing days are over. I strongly advise you never to set foot on a football pitch again.”
The court heard McKerron was playing for the Cruise Control five-a-side team on March 26 this year when he punched his opponent to the ground after a flare-up.
The referee abandoned the match immediately at the site on Great Southern Road, Aberdeen, and told McKerron to leave. McKerron was arrested the next day.
The victim was taken to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary and underwent surgery for a double break in his jaw.
He was allowed home two days later and spent two weeks off work.
Depute fiscal Anna Chisholm told the court the match referee had noticed McKerron “making some heavy tackles” early in the game – and ordered him to leave the pitch for a few minutes to cool down.
However, the offshore worker then returned to the field and punched an opponent in the jaw 25 minutes later.
McKerron, whose address was given in court as Balnagask Road, Aberdeen, admitted assaulting the man by punching him on the face, causing him to fall to the ground to his severe injury.
Defence agent Peter Shepherd said: “My client has no previous convictions since 2011. Unfortunately for him, that was for the same offence as this.”
The court heard McKerron admitted at the same court in 2011 punching a man repeatedly to the head to his severe injury at Strikers Indoor Football Centre in Aberdeen in September 2010.
Keep up to date with the latest news with The Evening Express newsletter
Sheriff Miller said: “It seems history has repeated itself.
“You seem like an upstanding member of the public, except when you step onto a football pitch, when the red mist descends.
“I have given careful consideration as to whether to send you to prison and decided I do not need to do that.”
McKerron was given a 12-month supervision order “to identify the triggers for this kind of behaviour” and ordered to do 250 hours of unpaid work and pay £1,000 compensation to his victim.
This article originally appeared on the Evening Express website. For more information, read about our new combined website.