A 43-year-old man and a 14-year-old boy who were convicted of shouting homophobic abuse at footballer Sol Campbell have had their convictions overturned. Ian Trow and the boy, who can't be named for legal reasons, were found guilty of shouting the abuse at the player during a match between Tottenham Hotspur and Portsmouth on September 28 last year.

The pair were fined a total of £900 and both were banned from attending football matches for three years. After a successful appeal heard last Monday at

Sol Campbell

Portsmouth Crown Court, the convictions were overturned. According to Judge Richard Price, although he could hear homophobic abuse on a recording of the match, it was not possible to say which members of the crowd were actually responsible.

Judge Price said:
"We can hear the crowd, we can hear the words 'gay boy'. We can't be sure those words came from Mr Trow's mouth. We can't be sure those words came from the boy's mouth."

Out of 11 defendants accused of the abuse, the pair were the only two to plead not guilty. Of the rest, four pleaded guilty and another five were given police cautions.

Trow said he pleaded not guilty so that there would be a court case in which he could prove his and the boy's innocence. He said he now plans to bring a civil action against the police.