Three north-east football fans have appeared in court in relation to alcohol-related crime following the Celtic and Rangers’ clash last month.
Elgin Sheriff Court heard the men spent all day drinking while watching the football on April 17 before going out and committing crimes in separate incidents across the region.
The derby clashes are due to resume on a regular basis following Rangers’ return to the Premiership.
And during court proceedings yesterday, when the men appeared to be sentenced, Sheriff Olga Pasportnikov said she wondered whether the incidents were “a sign of things to come”.
Raymond Watson, of 23 Bridge Street in Keith, was caught behind the wheel while four-times the drink-drive limit shortly after midnight the day after the match.
Fiscal depute Alison Wylie said: “The matter seems to have come to light as a result of an accident.”
Defence agent for Watson, Brent Lockie, said his client’s “misjudgement” came after he drank six bottles and two pints of beer following the game.
Watson, 42, admitted driving on Seafield Avenue in the town with 75mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood, the legal limit is 22mg.
He was banned from driving for 15 months and fined £500 for drink driving.
Meanwhile Celtic fan Kris Brown, of 10 Lumsden Court in Huntly, admitted resisting police arrest after going on a 12-hour bender in Keith.
The 32-year-old’s defence lawyer, Matthew O’Neill, said his client was “drowning his sorrows” following his team’s defeat.
Mr O’Neill said Brown had been drinking from earlier that morning and refused to leave the bar he was in when staff asked him to leave after he fell asleep twice.
The court heard police, who were in the pub on Mid Street for a different incident, also asked the Celtic fan to leave and he “turned his aggression” towards the officers and “lashed out”.
Brown was fined £500.
Another argument in the Brander Arms Bar in Lossiemouth also resulted in a man needing hospital attention that day.
Nicholas Crowley, of 12 Ashgrove Square in Elgin, punched Michael Smith on the face shortly before midnight. As a result the victim hit his head off the corner of a bar, causing him to lose consciousness.
Mr Smith needed three stitches on his right cheek following the assault.
Defence agent Steven Carty said Crowley, 24, had been out watching a game of football earlier and “a lot of” alcohol had been drunk.
Crowley was sentenced to 100 hours of unpaid work and ordered to pay £200 in compensation for the assault.
