Stone-throwing shame of soccer hero's grandson

There were ugly scenes when the Owls drew 2-2 with Crystal Palace at Hillsborough in May last year, confirming their relegation to League One.

Derek Dooley, who shares the same name as his famous footballing grandfather, was one of a large group of Sheffield Wednesday fans who invaded the pitch after the game. He was later caught on police cameras on nearby Middlewood Road, raising a stone above his head and smashing it onto the Supertram tracks.

Another Owls fan then picked up a fragment of the stone and hurled it at the police, Sheffield Magistrates' Court heard.

Dooley had denied the public order charge, saying that smashing the rock was a "wrong decision" and a "stupid mistake", but he had no intention of throwing it.

However, yesterday, magistrates found the 22-year-old guilty of one count of threatening behaviour and ordered him to undertake 200 hours' of community service and pay court costs of 775.

Roger Whitehouse, presiding, told Dooley: "Fans invaded the pitch and you admit you were one of them. This disorder between the fans continued in the ground and outside.

"You were also seen with a group of people who were involved with throwing stones at the police. The cameras show, at one stage, you were in the front row mouthing at the police.

"You were identified picking up and breaking a rock and smashing it into and onto the steel tram track deliberately, with downward force, the result being that the rock was broken into manageable pieces.

"You were also seen holding a piece of this broken rock for at least one-and-a-half minutes.

"We find that your behaviour was threatening and abusive on that day and could have caused other people to believe that unlawful violence could be used against them."

After giving their sentence, the magistrates declined to impose a football banning order on the talented sportsman, who plays part-time for the non-league club Sheffield FC and also aspires to be a football coach, saying such an order would be "too onerous".

Mr Whitehouse said: "You have been attending matches since childhood. It is not necessary to impose a banning order to prevent violence by you at football matches.

"However, if anything like this should happen again it will have serious consequences."

A number of friends and family of the defendant, including the current Sheffield United chairman, had submitted character references praising his "admirable" qualities.

Dooley's grandfather, who died in 2008, is regarded as a footballing hero in Sheffield and part of the city's ring road has been named Derek Dooley Way in his honour.

He was a star striker for Wednesday in the early 1950s, before his career was brought to a premature end following a collision on the field that led to his leg being amputated. He then went on to manage the club, before later becoming chairman of rivals Sheffield United.

Defending, Andrew Swaby said: "It was a match that had a lot resting on it for both sides. Mr Dooley was anxious about that game.

"He said he felt like a 10-year-old waiting to go on a rollercoaster.

"Before the match at Hillsborough he had had some alcohol with his friends. He said he doesn't normally drink in the daytime and he's usually playing football on a Saturday afternoon."

Dooley, of Meadowhead Road, Sheffield, declined to comment following his sentence,