Three football supporters have been warned they could receive jail terms for their involvement in violence which flared inside a Carlisle pub which also involved six followers from a rival Scottish club.
The nine men were initially charged with violent disorder after the incident at Gallagher’s Irish Bar on Botchergate just before 3pm on Saturday, October 23, 2021.
Weapons were brandished and objects thrown during the incident which involved followers of two rival Scottish top flight sides — Glasgow Celtic and Edinburgh-based Hibernian.
At Carlisle Crown Court late last year, five members of the Celtic contingent who denied the violent disorder allegation pleaded guilty to the alternative charge of affray. In February, a sixth man admitted the affray charge.
Three members of the Hibernian group had previously denied affray. They were due to stand trial in front of a jury at the crown court this week.
But in court this afternoon, Sean Alexander McNulty, 43; Steven Rintoul, 48, and 39-year-old Andrew Whitson changed their pleas to guilty.
Their cases were all adjourned for the preparation of probation service pre-sentence reports.
McNulty, of Glenure Loan, Edinburgh; Rintoul, of East Main Street, Uphall, near Livingston; and Whitson, of John Knox Road, Longniddry, near Edinburgh, are now due to be sentenced along with the six Celtic followers — who include 32-year-old twins — at a single crown court hearing.
This is due to take place on November 17, is due to last around a day and is likely to involve the playing by a prosecutor of CCTV footage which captured the broad daylight incident. It is said that Hibernian had a connection to English side Oldham Athletic, who were playing a league fixture at Carlisle United on the day of the violence.
Recorder Philip Grundy told McNulty, Rintoul and Whitson: “In my opinion it is quite clear that a judge will sentence all of you together as it is one incident on one day, albeit with you supporting different football clubs.”
Pre-sentence reports, said the judge, would allow the sentencing judge to assess all evidence and background information in the case and recommend alternatives to prison sentences.
But Recorder Grundy warned the three men: “Please don’t have any illusions that the (sentencing) starting point is a non-custodial sentence. It is the opposite.”
All three men were granted unconditional bail ahead of the sentencing hearing, at which consideration will also be given to the imposition of orders with the power to ban defendants from attending football matches in the future.
