Carragher's Dad banned from all UK football grounds

Jamie Carragher's father appeared in court yesterday in relation to an incident at the recent England-Holland game at Villa Park. According to reports, Gary Carragher, 50, was ejected from his VIP seat when watching Jamie play in the friendly game.

He was later arrested - allegedly for being drunk - and was freed after a night in police cells.

He pleaded not guilty to a charge of trying to enter a sports arena while drunk. He received bail, but a condition of this was means he is banned from every ground in the UK until the case is settled.

Mr Carragher's solicitor, Ian Till, explained Carragher travelled all over England to watch his 27-year-old son and asked the bench not to impose the ban, saying Mr Carragher had not been drunk, and also had not tried to get back into the stadium. There had been an “incident” over match tickets. He said, “Given his unique position, I ask that no banning order is put in place. He follows his son across the country. It would be unfortunate to deny him this privilege as I don’t think there are concerns about his behaviour.”

Despite the request, senior magistrate, Rama Joshi, said the condition would be imposed on Mr Carragher, of Crosby in Liverpool. No date has been fixed for the trial.