Man appears in court over football takings theft

A 29-year-old man has appeared in court today in connection with the robbery of £20,000 of takings during a recent Belfast football fixture.

Thomas Finlay, 29, from Gawn Street in east Belfast denied conspiring to rob using a firearm or imitation during last week's Co Antrim Shield football fixture between Glentoran and Linfield at the Oval in east Belfast.

County Antrim FA secretary Brian Dummigan and treasurer John Hamilton were robbed as they approached their vehicle inside the stadium shortly before the final whistle.

During today's appearance at the High Court in Belfast the court was told that the two masked men who robbed the officials were armed with a handgun and a hammer.

It was claimed that Mr Finlay was found to be in the possession of a two-way radio along with a piece of paper containing two vehicle registration numbers, one of which matched that of the football official's car, after a search of his home by police.

However, Mr Finlay's lawyer claimed these were the registrations of cars which had been seen driving suspiciously in the area and that he had intended to pass the information on to police.

Despite this plea, bail was refused.

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