Drunken man told to pay £10,000 to Leeds United over 'bad joke' bomb hoax that shut club for two days - YEP 9/8/23
A “stupid” drunken man who sent a bomb hoax to Leeds United that shut the club for two days over social media has been ordered to pay £10,000 in compensation.
By Nick Frame
Koli Boci said he was drunk and later told police it was a
“misjudged attempt at humour” after he uploaded two posts on Instagram in
March, telling the club that he had planted an improvised explosive device at
Elland Road, to be detonated at the club’s next home game two weeks later. In
the second, he simply wrote: “Have fun guys”.
The scare resulted in the club being shut immediately, the
ground had to be evacuated and the club shop closed as experts were brought in
to comb the area. No device was found and the club was fully re-opened two days
later. It was estimated that the total cost to the football club in lost
revenue totalled more than £15,000, with an additional £2,000 for security
costs.
Boci, 21, was handed a nine-month jail term, suspended for
18 months, at Leeds Crown Court this morning. He was also given rehabilitation
days, a 90-day alcohol abstinence requirement and 200 hours of unpaid work. He
was also ordered to pay the five-figure compensation requirement within the
next 12 months.
Judge Neil Clark conceded that he was not a terrorist and
said it was simply “utter stupidity”. He told Boci: “You thought it would be
funny but you did not give any thought to the consequences. It was stupidity.
The police and public service were put to enormous expense.”
Prosecuting, Satpal Roth-Sharma said Boci, of Royal Gardens,
Hunslet, was arrested and his home searched after sending the Instagram posts
on March 23. He said he had planted it to go off on April 4 – Leeds United’s
next home game against Nottingham Forest.
