After Manchester City’s historic win against Inter Milan in 2023, football fans took to the streets to celebrate, but Leon Blackett took it too far and scaled a police van causing more than £10,000 worth of damage
A football fan who jumped on a police car during raucous celebrations after Manchester City’s Champions League Final win has been jailed. Thousands of fans took to the streets after Manchester City’s win against Inter Milan on June 10, 2023, resulting in their historic treble.
Leon Blackett was part of the celebrations but, alongside several other people, he climbed onto a specialist search pick-up truck, causing around £10,000 of damage, and resulting in it being written off, according to Greater Manchester Police (GMP).
Blackett, 22, was identified through CCTV footage of the incident in Instanbul in Turkey, and social media.
GMP arrested him at his home in October 2023, four months after the crime, and he admitted the offence during questioning.
In CCTV footage, he was caught scaling the police vehicle, jumping up and down and causing more than £10,000 worth of damage.
The hooligan, of Didsbury, has now been sentenced to a total of 44 months in prison, three-months for what police describe as the ‘football-related offence’ and 41 months for possession of a knife and a domestic related communications offence.
He has also been given a seven-year football banning order, which began on the day he received the sentence.
PC Matt Ford said: “The actions by Blackett in the wake of Manchester City’s historic Champions League Final victory were completely unacceptable. Him and the others who were caught on camera either through our body worn footage, social media videos or CCTV have been robustly dealt with.
“Fines, football banning orders and hours of unpaid work have been handed to some, with Blackett receiving a time in prison for his actions, due to him serving a suspended sentence while committing the crime in the city centre.
“This is a timely reminder to those who commit crimes while following the football in another country, we will seek prosecutions for unacceptable behaviour.”