Man 'Tore Up Koran' At Middlesbrough Football Match

Man 'Tore Up Koran' At Middlesbrough Football Match
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A man reads the Koran at a prayer service at the Islamic Society of Boston mosque, Friday, April 26, 2013, in Cambridge, Mass. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
ASSOCIATED PRESS

A man has been arrested after pages were torn from the Koran and thrown during a football match, police said.

The incident, which happened during a game between Birmingham City and Middlesbrough at St Andrew's on 7 December, was reported to police by a match steward.

A 25-year-old man from Bicton Heath in Shrewsbury was arrested on suspicion of inciting racial hatred on 21 December.

He has since been bailed pending further inquiries and banned from attending any football matches or from visiting the St Andrews ground. He must also not visit any city where Middlesbrough FC are playing.

Last month, a court in Leicester heard how an atheist man had torn up a Koran at a stall promoting Islam, throwing the holy book on the floor and calling it "bullshit".

He denied the charge of inciting religious hatred, saying he would have done the same for any religious book, not just a Koran. A just could not reach a verdict on the case.