“I didn’t mean to offend the steward, and I apologize to him,” said Jelle H. The 26-year-old KV Kortrijk supporter who caused a commotion at the end of the home match against Antwerp on February 2nd and punched a steward, faces a five-year stadium ban in addition to a prison sentence or community service order and a fine. KV Kortrijk itself has already banned him from attending any matches for the next five years.

HLN, Lieven Samyn, March 16, 2022, Source: LSI, © BELGA

Jelle H. was one of the KVK supporters who caused a commotion in injury time against Antwerp, advancing towards the visiting supporters. Some Kortrijk supporters were upset by the fact that several Antwerp fans were celebrating in the KVK main stand when their team took a double lead. “They taunted us. They kept standing up and giving us the middle fingers. Because the police didn’t intervene, we decided to take care of it ourselves,” Jelle H. said earlier. He has been attending almost all KV Kortrijk matches since he was a child and is part of the Kortrijk Casuals, a small, hard-core supporter group.

Unintentional

Along with thirty other supporters, H. went to the main stand, where – against COVID regulations – several Antwerp supporters were seated. Stewards and officers tried to restrain them. One steward was punched by H. “The steward grabbed me by the throat. I tried to break away and hit him twice in the face,” H. admits. “But it was unintentional.” He asked the judge for permission to perform community service. The public prosecutor had requested a four-month prison sentence, an eight hundred euro fine, and a five-year stadium ban, but did not oppose a community service order of sixty to eighty hours. In March 2019, he was previously sentenced to twenty hours of community service, also for supporter violence. He used his fists during a home match between KV Kortrijk and Waasland-Beveren. He had already received four previous stadium bans, including for throwing beer cups and climbing on fences.

Punished twice

After the incident against Antwerp, KV Kortrijk and the city itself also took action. H. was immediately banned from the stadium for three months and was not allowed to be near the stadium for another month. He will also be banned from KV Kortrijk matches for five years. “This means he will be punished twice. For the football fan through and through, these are severe penalties,” his lawyer stated.

The steward and the club filed a civil suit and demanded damages. “€5,000, the fine the club received after the irregularities. And another €1,500 for the damage to its image,” responded lawyer Ben Leyman. “I apologize and admit I didn’t need to be in the stands,” concluded H. “I didn’t mean to attack the steward, I only wanted to frighten the Antwerp supporters. I realize that my behavior might discourage neutral football fans from attending matches.” The verdict will be delivered on April 13.