A CLARETS fan who streaked across the pitch before being tackled by Burnley mascot Bertie Bee has escaped a club ban, and today said he wouldn't be doing it again.
Sabaean Myers' cheeky celebration of Gazza's arrival at Turf Moor during the game against Preston on Sunday transformed him into a celebrity after he streaked across the pitch with the score daubed across his backside.
Myers appeared before Burnley Magistrates Court yesterday -- but said it was nothing compared to facing the wrath of his mother.
The builder's labourer, a Liverpool fan with an allegiance to Burnley, was given a two-year conditional discharge and ordered to pay £65 costs. The bench did not make a football banning order after his solicitor claimed the vast majority of the Turf Moor crowd saw the naked escapade as a prank.
Myers, 20, of Kirkstall Drive, Barnoldswick, admitted using insulting or disorderly behaviour and pitch encroachment. An allegation of indecent exposure was withdrawn.
John Wood, prosecuting, said the defendant ran on the pitch, wearing nothing but his shoes, headed towards the Preston supporters and showed them his buttocks, which had 2- 0 written on them.
He was chased by security staff but floored largely due to the efforts of Bertie Bee.
Graeme Tindall, defending, said Myers had been drinking before the match and was then encouraged to streak by others in the crowd. After the hearing, Myers said his friends egged him on and one wrote the score on his bottom.
He said he ran up to star winger Glen Little, shook his hand and told him: "You're the man" before dashing past where Gazza was sitting, heading towards the Preston end and showing them the score. Myers described Bertie Bee's tackle as "brilliant".
The defendant, who works mainly for PG Construction in Barnoldswick, said that since the streak had been shown on television and in the national press, motorists had been pipping their horns at him and people shaking his hand in the street.
He admitted he had been a bit embarrassed at being on television naked but his workmates had been treating him like a hero.
Myers said his mother had at first been absolutely livid when she found out what he had done, but when she had received a telephone call telling her her son had been on Channel Four's Big Breakfast she had smiled, started laughing and become more relaxed about it.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article