Rhyl and Bangor players sentenced after mass brawl during match

Rhyl player Alex Jones, 28, of Rhuddlan, was charged with affray on February 21, as was Bangor’s Shaun Lock, 31, of Bangor.

They each pleaded guilty at Llandudno Magistrates’ Court today (May 3).

Jones and Lock were each ordered to pay a £750 fine, a £300 surcharge, and £85 in court costs.

A third defendant charged with affray, Rhyl player Leon Atkins, 21, of Heswall, will appear in court on May 17.

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Rhyl footballers appear in court following mass brawl during match

Red cards and mass brawl at Rhyl-Bangor match prompts investigation

Prosecuting, Jim Neary told the court that the incident took place on October 22, 2022 at Rhyl’s Belle Vue ground, during an Ardal North West League match which Bangor won 2-1 in front of a crowd of 711.

As the ball was going out of play for a corner kick, Lock took hold of it to waste time, before being pushed to the ground.

Players from both teams then engaged in “the usual sort of behaviour unfortunately all too expected at football matches these days”.

Belle Vue, Rhyl (Image: Newsquest)

Referee Gareth Webb then showed red cards to both Jones and Bangor’s Tom Clarke; Jones gripped Mr Clarke by the scruff of neck and shouted: “come on, let’s go outside”.

Jones then punched Mr Clarke to the face, causing him to fall to the ground, before a “mass brawl” ensued.

Atkins could be seen sprinting across the pitch to approach the Bangor coaching staff, knocking one of them on the back of the head, and punching another in the face.

Lock, meanwhile, found himself in the middle of the brawl between the two teams, throwing punches at various Rhyl players.

Robert Thomas, a retired man who went to watch the game despite not supporting either club, said he felt “shocked” and “sickened” in a witness statement.

He said he saw a Rhyl player “swing a haymaker punch straight to the face of a Bangor player”, before immediately punching him again, despite the fact that he “hadn’t seen the Bangor player do anything”.

Mr Thomas said: “I was shocked and sickened at what I’d just seen. In over 40 years of regularly attending football matches, I have never seen anything like that.

“A mass brawl then developed. As the group moved away, I could see the Bangor player initially punched lying prostrate on floor. I was very concerned for him.

“This was not anything to do with football. When I returned home, I felt compelled to report the matter to police, as I felt I needed to do something.

“I was so appalled, shaken and upset at what I’d seen.”

Jake Smith, a linesman at the match, said he had “never seen this scale of violent behaviour occur in a football match that I have been a part of”.

Similarly, Mr Webb, the match referee, added that the players’ conduct was “above and beyond anything I’ve had to deal with before”.

Jones’ representative conceded that his actions “tarnish not only his reputation, but the reputation of his club, as well”.

He told police he was “embarrassed” by his conduct, which resulted in him receiving a nine-match ban from the Football Association of Wales (FAW).

But Jones has learnt a “very salient lesson” from this, having picked up only one yellow card since returning from his ban.

Lock’s representative said his client was not disciplined on the pitch from the referee, nor off it from the FAW.

A self-employed plasterer, Lock was “sorry for his actions”, having “never denied his behaviour”.

Jones and Lock were told by the presiding judge: “It’s clear that what happened at the end of the game was totally and utterly unacceptable.

“If referees and support staff have to put up with abuse, they won’t do it (anymore).

“It was nothing to do with football. It was gratuitous.”

In total, seven red cards were shown in October’s game, which Bangor won 2-1.