Conference League player jailed for breaking opponent's jaw

BARROW, England (AP) _ A Conference League soccer player was jailed Thursday for breaking an opponent's jaw in an FA Cup match. <br/><br/>Barrow defender James Cotterill received a four-month sentence

Thursday, January 11th 2007, 8:51 am

By: News On 6

BARROW, England (AP) _ A Conference League soccer player was jailed Thursday for breaking an opponent's jaw in an FA Cup match.

Barrow defender James Cotterill received a four-month sentence after pleading guilty to punching and fracturing Bristol Rovers striker Sean Rigg's jaw. The attack happened in the 30th minute of a first-round match on Nov. 11, which Rovers won 3-2.

Cotterill's attorney Peter Kennedy described the punch as ``a moment of folly'' that took place in ``the heat of the moment.''

``He is thoroughly ashamed for his family, former club and his profession,'' Kennedy said.

Television replays caught Cotterill's blow to the back of Rigg's head. The punch broke Rigg's jaw in two places, which must now be held together by metal plates.

Cotterill was arrested on Nov. 20 and subsequently left Barrow, which plays in the division immediately below Football League. The Football Association had banned the 24-year-old defender from playing until March 1.

``The courts have for a long time now made it absolutely clear that this sort of violence on the field of play cannot and will not be tolerated,'' Judge Robert Brown said at Preston Crown Court in northern England. ``And for this kind of off-the-ball incident a custodial sentence is inevitable.''

Rangers striker Duncan Ferguson is believed to be the only other case of a U.K.-based player being sentenced to prison. In 1995, Ferguson was sentenced to three months in prison for headbutting Raith Rovers' defender John McStay in a match in 1994.

Cotterill was also ordered to pay a 270 pound (euro407; US$525) fine.