Fan banned from grounds for tearing Koran

A football supporter who tore pages of the Koran during a game has been banned from every ground in England and Wales for three years. Middlesbrough fan Julie Phillips ripped up pages during her side's 2-2 draw away to Birmingham City last December, and police said she had caused or contributed to other acts of disorder. Phillips, who had already been given a lifetime ban from Middlesbrough's Riverside Stadium, claimed that she did not know the book was the Koran. Cleveland Police applied to the court for the 51-year-old to be banned from games as it was the latest of a number of incidents involving the Middlesbrough fan. The police revealed that Phillips had been arrested at another game after allegedly racially abusing a steward.