Suspended sentence for fan who stormed Euro qualifier

The district court convicted the man of attempted assault and trespassing and ordered him to serve a 40-hour community service as well as paying the costs for the trial, Danish news agency Ritzau reported.

 The judge said that in normal circumstances the man would have been sentenced to a prison term but that the man's deep regret had been taken into consideration.

 The 29-year-old man had risked up to three years if convicted although the prosecutor demanded a two- to three-month term.

 A court order has banned media from naming the fan who lives in neighbouring Sweden.

 Witnesses included Danish international Michael Gravgaard who stopped the fan from attacking referee Herbert Fandel, who aborted the game.

 The Danish Football Association (DBU) and the owners of the national arena Parken were earlier told by judge Lisbeth Christensen that they have to file a separate lawsuit concerning their demands for economic compensation from the fan, Ritzau said.

 European football's ruling body UEFA has banned Denmark from playing its next two Euro 2008 qualifiers at the national arena in Copenhagen, resulting in an economic loss for DBU and the Parken owners.

 Denmark was slated to play Sweden away this Saturday, and next week takes on Liechtenstein at Aarhus.

DPA