Soccer: Court rules Euro 2000 hooligan conviction is fair

A Brussels court has upheld a guilty verdict against England soccer fan Mark Forrester over violence at Euro 2000.

He was given a six-month jail sentence suspended for three years for violence during the tournament.

The appeal court judge said police evidence accusing Mr Forrester of inciting hooliganism had been objective.

It added although video evidence does not demonstrate "100%" that the accused man had been involved in trouble on the streets of Brussels, it did not prove conclusively that he was not involved.

Father-of-one Forrester, 34, still proclaims his innocence and has vowed to fight on to clear his name.

"I'm a little shocked but not really surprised," Forrester said from Belgium, after learning of the verdict.

"I have said all the while I have no faith in this justice system whatsover, and they have gone so far down the line they could not back track. Police officers deliberatley lied on oath."

Forrester says more video evidence has come to light since the trial that will back up his story. He is planning further legal action after meeting with his lawyers.

He had hoped new video evidence shown at his re-trial last month would clear his name.

It showed fans brawling in the Belgian capital on the eve of the England-Germany game in Charleroi.

Forrester, of Great Barr, Birmingham, was the only English fan detained and put on trial.

He was jailed for a year by Judge Regine Claeys, who said it had been proven that the accused man had been "provocative and aggressive".

At his appeal last month the police video footage showed no sign of him being a ringleader stirring up rioting as alleged by the sole Belgian police "hooligan spotter" who gave evidence.

Forrester lost his job as a plant hire manager after his conviction and is still out of work.