Serial Streaker To Fight Football Ban
Wednesday May 16, 2007
A serial streaker famous for targeting major sporting events has been slapped with a three-year football ban designed to stop him from baring all at the Uefa Cup final. Mark Roberts says he never intended to run naked at the match between Sevilla and Espanyol at Glasgow's Hampden Park on Wednesday. And the 42-year-old has vowed to fight the banning order. It stops him from entering every football ground in the UK and requires him to hand in his passport and register with the police whenever British teams play in Europe.
Mr Roberts believes Strathclyde police are behind the ban, accusing them of "sour grapes" over his last streak at the Glasgow ground. "I streaked at the Champions League final in Glasgow in 2002. I wore a tam o'shanter and had Brave Tart written on my back," he said. "I think the police up there have probably got a case of sour grapes against me because of that, but I can honestly say I had no intention of going to the Uefa Cup final or any other football match in the UK.
Mr Roberts says the ban is over the top, claiming he will never have his passport "for more than five minutes". "If they wanted to order me to stay away from the cup final, then fair enough, but why infringe on my life and my family life for three years?" he said.
Arguably Mr Roberts made his most famous streak in 1995, when he ran in front of the floating weather map used by ITV's This Morning program. Mr Roberts' other conquests include the Grand National and the American Super Bowl.
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Here's his "This Morning" appearance
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and here's his homepage www.thestreaker.org.uk
The guy's a hero if you ask me!
