A QUALIFIED referee received a yellow card from magistrates after he was caught up in violence that marred Middlesbrough FC's Uefa Cup debut on foreign soil.

Cleveland Police tried unsuccessfully to persuade Teesside magistrates to impose a two-and-a-half-year football banning order, which would have ended Gary Coxon's touchline career.

Police applied for the order, which was contested by Mr Coxon.

Although Mr Coxon was not seen to throw any punches or kicks during the fighting, in Ostrava, last year his actions helped fuel violent confrontations between fans, the court heard.

The 39-year-old referee was at the game in the Czech Republic with his teenage son when trouble flared before the match against Banik Ostrava.

Video footage showed Mr Coxon joining the group of troublemakers at what was described as the "frontline".

Detective Sergeant Ian Fawcett, head of Cleveland Police's football intelligence unit, said: "He is not seen kicking or throwing punches, he is just present during the video footage. As the number of Boro supporters grows, that is what gets the Banik Ostrava fans to run around the ground to begin the confrontation.

"Mr Coxon is positioned on the frontline."

The court heard that Mr Coxon, a waste disposal company secretary from Ullswater Avenue, Acklam, Middlesbrough, had risen from level ten to level four in refereeing, which means he can be the assistant referee for Conference North, Northern League and Unibond League level.

Solicitor Nick Woodhouse said Mr Coxon had approached the police in February after officers contacted his brother in relation to the incident.

He said: "The evidence is based on a four-minute period at that match. It is not connected with any previous incidents. He was observing what was going on but he didn't throw and punches or kicks."

If the order was granted, Mr Coxon said it would have finished his refereeing career.

Chairman of the bench, Oliver Johnson, said: "We are satisfied that you did contribute to the violence and disorder by walking a significant distance from your seat to place yourself within the group. By this action, you contributed to the numbers involved in this incident.

"However, due to your previous good character we are not satisfied that it would be proportionate to make you the subject of a banning order. Let this be a salient lesson to you."

Speaking after the hearing, a neighbour said: "I wouldn't believe he would get involved in anything like that. He just keeps himself to himself and is certainly not a troublemaker."