A 16-YEAR-OLD pleaded guilty at court yesterday to threatening behaviour after the Darlington versus Sunderland friendly football match.

Darlington Youth Court heard the boy was "boiling" after Sunderland fans insulted him over his weight.

The defendant, who is from Darlington but cannot be named for legal reasons, was with a group of others shouting at vehicles from the Barker and Stonehouse roundabout in Victoria Road.

After rival fans shouted abuse back, the group gave chase and ended up in an alley near the Royal Mail sorting office.

The fans - who were not wearing football shirts - shouted "Where are you from?" at each other. The group of Sunderland fans then ran away.

Police officers, who had witnessed the incident, arrested two males, including the defendant.

The case was adjourned for a week. Chris Bunting, mitigating, said his client accepted he had used threatening behaviour by chasing the other group, but denied it was football-related.

If the offence is found to be football-related, the boy could receive a football banning order, which has a minimum three-year period.

The game, on Wednesday, July 18, at the 96.6 TFM Darlington arena, ended in a 2-0 win for Sunderland.