Serial hooligan jailed for Savage confrontation

A serial football hooligan who ran on the pitch to confront soccer star Robbie Savage was today jailed for five months.

Jobless Michael Lewis was already serving a three-year ban from every football stadium in England and Wales before Sunday’s FA Cup tie between Blackburn and Burnley.

The 42-year-old Burnley fan invaded the pitch and headed straight for Rovers star Savage.

He was seen by millions of TV viewers offering to fight the Welsh international, Burnley Magistrates’ Court heard.

Lewis, who has 24 previous convictions including for football-related incidents at Millwall, Blackpool and Wolverhampton, was warned off by players from both sides who protected Savage.

He then ran to the touchline and assaulted two officers as they arrested him.

Lewis pleaded guilty to breaching the football banning order, encroaching on the football pitch, using threatening and abusive behaviour towards Savage and assaulting two police officers.

He was jailed for five months and given another football banning order for 10 years.

Lewis was already serving a ban of three years from Wolverhampton magistrates in December 2002 for being drunk at a match and obstructing police officers.

Last March he breached the order by going to Burnley’s game at Millwall and was jailed for 28 days.

He also invaded the pitch at Blackpool in 1992 and breached an exclusion order at Burnley in 1990.

He had been jailed for 18 months for assault in 1989.