He was sentenced for mocking Bradley Lowery at Sunderland match.
Sheffield Wednesday fan Dale Houghton, who mocked the death of young mascot Bradley Lowery during a match against Sunderland, has been given a 12-week prison sentence suspended for 18 months at Sheffield Magistrates Court.
Houghton, 32, was pictured on social media laughing as he showed a picture on his phone of Bradley, who died of cancer in 2017, to rival supporters at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield on September 29.
He admitted a public order offence at a previous hearing and on Friday, November 17, he was ordered to do 200 hours unpaid work, as well as given the suspended sentence by District Judge Marcus Waite.
Mr Waite said: “You showed callous disrespect to a brave young man who was rightly held in the highest esteem by football fans everywhere.”
The district judge said Houghton’s actions were “utterly appalling” and “disgraceful”.
Sunderland fan Bradley captured the nation’s heart during his battle with neuroblastoma, but succumbed to the illness aged six in 2017.
He was a mascot for his beloved club and, in the months before his death, led England out at Wembley alongside former Black Cats striker Jermain Defoe.
