Judge orders community service for man who threw banana at game

A man who threw a banana, which landed beside a black Premier League soccer player during a glamour friendly match in Limerick last year, has been ordered to do 240 hours community service with the migrant community.

20-year old Kelvin Reynolds admitted throwing the banana onto the pitch at Thomond Park last August, but denied it was an act of racism.

It landed at the feet of Manchester City and French international defender, Gael Clichy.

Limerick District Court judge, Eugene O'Kelly, said he found it "very hard to believe it was not racially motivated".

Reynolds, of Pinewood Avenue, Caherdavin, Limerick, also admitted assaulting a Garda with a plastic bottle during the match.