Great-Grandmother Banned from Soccer Club

LEEDS, England – English soccer club bans great-grandma for year for walking on field
A soccer-loving great-grandmother in England will have to watch her beloved Leeds on television next season after being issued a one-year ban from the stadium for walking onto the field during a match, the Yorkshire Evening Post reported Thursday.

Margaret Musgrove, 63, was issued the automatic penalty, in addition to having her season tickets revoked, for leaving the stands last month at Elland Road during Leeds' final game of the season against Burnley.

Security guards quickly grabbed the slight woman and she was taken to a holding cell at the stadium. She was arrested but not charged, according to the report.

Musgrove, who has 13 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren, is appealing to the club to reduce her penalty, and says she has already paid hundreds of pounds for next season's tickets.

Musgrove, who has been a fan of the Mighty Whites for 40 years, claims she did not go onto the field in a threatening manner. Footage of the match shows her walking toward the players with her arms in the air.

"It's not like I am a hooligan," she told the paper. "People who do much worse than this get the same ban. A suspension from a few games would have hurt, but I already feel like I have been punished enough."

"I just wanted to shout, 'Lads, I love you,' " Musgrove added. "I had my Leeds United bag across my chest and a United flag tied around my waste. It was hardly threatening. I just got carried away."

The club said in its letter to Musgrove that she will also be banned from purchasing tickets to away contests, and will not be given a refund because she violated the club's policy on fan conduct.

Hundreds have joined Facebook groups devoted to supporting Musgrove's appeal of her punishment.

Leeds, located in Northern England, competes in The Championship, which is one level below the Premier League.