When Andrew Wilson turned up in a £135,000 Aston Martin to play for his pub football side in a grudge match against their local rivals, he may have been prepared for a bit of stick from the opposition.
But after a bad-tempered Sunday League game which his team won 7-2, it wasn't stick that Mr Wilson had to worry about so much as bricks and lumps of concrete, as his supercar was smashed up in a revenge attack by a member of the other team.
The onslaught left Mr Wilson with an £11,300 repair bill for his James Bond-style DB9 Volante, while two of the opposing players picked up criminal records.
The trouble began when Mr Wilson, who plays for Boldon Lad FC in a smart commuter belt near Newcastle upon Tyne, parked his convertible at the home ground of their bitter rivals Luke's Lane FC in the altogether less well-heeled district of Jarrow.
Almost from the kick-off of the Tyne and Wear Business Houses League match, Mr Wilson, 25, was warned by Luke's Lane players that his car would be targeted.
Tempers flared as Mr Wilson, a former semi-professional player, began to run rings around the opposition in a match which was described by the referee as "troublesome, niggling, with heavy tackles on both sides".
Mr Wilson's fate was sealed an hour into the game when Luke's Lane player Mark McShane was shown the red card, and began plotting his revenge.
At the end of the match Mr Wilson was ambushed by another Luke's Lane player, Craig Lowther, who hit him in the face with a piece of brick, while McShane and a 16-year-old spectator pelted his car with bricks and concrete.
All three were arrested following the incident on February 17 and appeared before Newcastle Crown Court yesterday.
Peter Schofield, representing McShane, said: "This was a disastrous day in every respect. There were two teams playing on the defendant's home ground and local rivalry was acute.
"On any view, once Mr McShane was sent off he accepts matters deteriorated. His exclusion from the pitch resulted, in effect, in his team losing.
"He has been clear throughout in respect of his account that there was a degree of goading in respect of what took place on the pitch.
"Even against that background there is no excuse for what happened."
McShane, 22, of Tynemouth Road, Jarrow, and the 16-year-old youth, who cannot be named for legal reasons, both admitted criminal damage.
McShane was sentenced to a community order for 18 months with supervision and ordered to pay £750 compensation. The 16-year-old was sentenced to a supervision order for 18 months.
Lowther, 24, of Witton Gardens, Jarrow, admitted assaulting Mr Wilson and was sentenced to 51 weeks imprisonment, suspended for 12 months, with a three month curfew between 9pm and 7am.
Mr Recorder Paul Williams told them: "This is deplorable behaviour. You have come very close to losing your liberty."
Mr Wilson, who is, ironically, the director of a company which provides accident repair services to motor insurers, declined to comment yesterday at his home in Washington.
Footballer's Aston Martin wrecked after Sunday league grudge match - Telegraph
But after a bad-tempered Sunday League game which his team won 7-2, it wasn't stick that Mr Wilson had to worry about so much as bricks and lumps of concrete, as his supercar was smashed up in a revenge attack by a member of the other team.
The onslaught left Mr Wilson with an £11,300 repair bill for his James Bond-style DB9 Volante, while two of the opposing players picked up criminal records.
The trouble began when Mr Wilson, who plays for Boldon Lad FC in a smart commuter belt near Newcastle upon Tyne, parked his convertible at the home ground of their bitter rivals Luke's Lane FC in the altogether less well-heeled district of Jarrow.
Almost from the kick-off of the Tyne and Wear Business Houses League match, Mr Wilson, 25, was warned by Luke's Lane players that his car would be targeted.
Tempers flared as Mr Wilson, a former semi-professional player, began to run rings around the opposition in a match which was described by the referee as "troublesome, niggling, with heavy tackles on both sides".
Mr Wilson's fate was sealed an hour into the game when Luke's Lane player Mark McShane was shown the red card, and began plotting his revenge.
At the end of the match Mr Wilson was ambushed by another Luke's Lane player, Craig Lowther, who hit him in the face with a piece of brick, while McShane and a 16-year-old spectator pelted his car with bricks and concrete.
All three were arrested following the incident on February 17 and appeared before Newcastle Crown Court yesterday.
Peter Schofield, representing McShane, said: "This was a disastrous day in every respect. There were two teams playing on the defendant's home ground and local rivalry was acute.
"On any view, once Mr McShane was sent off he accepts matters deteriorated. His exclusion from the pitch resulted, in effect, in his team losing.
"He has been clear throughout in respect of his account that there was a degree of goading in respect of what took place on the pitch.
"Even against that background there is no excuse for what happened."
McShane, 22, of Tynemouth Road, Jarrow, and the 16-year-old youth, who cannot be named for legal reasons, both admitted criminal damage.
McShane was sentenced to a community order for 18 months with supervision and ordered to pay £750 compensation. The 16-year-old was sentenced to a supervision order for 18 months.
Lowther, 24, of Witton Gardens, Jarrow, admitted assaulting Mr Wilson and was sentenced to 51 weeks imprisonment, suspended for 12 months, with a three month curfew between 9pm and 7am.
Mr Recorder Paul Williams told them: "This is deplorable behaviour. You have come very close to losing your liberty."
Mr Wilson, who is, ironically, the director of a company which provides accident repair services to motor insurers, declined to comment yesterday at his home in Washington.
Footballer's Aston Martin wrecked after Sunday league grudge match - Telegraph
