A CONVICTED Ipswich hooligan has been banned from watching football matches at home and abroad.In the first case of its kind in the county Suffolk Police successfully applied a travelling ban on Sam Ordowski.

A CONVICTED Ipswich hooligan has been banned from watching football matches at home and abroad.

In the first case of its kind in the county Suffolk Police successfully applied a travelling ban on Sam Ordowski.

At a civil hearing in Ipswich magistrates imposed strict conditions restricting the movements of the 23-year-old.

Ordowski, of Wordsworth Crescent, was told he can not attend any regulated football matches in England and Wales or follow England at home or overseas.

Magistrates also imposed the following conditions in relation to the two year order.

n Exclusion from Ipswich town centre on days of home fixtures three hours before and three hours after kick-off.

n Exclusion from Ipswich town centre on days of all England fixtures one hour before kick-off and two hours after kick-off.

n Exclusion on match days from ten mile radius of any ground where Ipswich are playing a domestic away fixture.

n Exclusion on match days of ten mile radius of any domestic England fixture.

n Must notify football banning authority of any change of address within a two days of moving.

After the hearing Dave King, Suffolk police football intelligence liaison officer, said there could be more cases of this type in the future.

He said: "It is a positive step by the Government to implement this legislation and it is a positive step by police to put people before the courts."

He added: "After the success of this one we will sit down and look at the profiles of other people with convictions for football related violence."

During the case Chris Jackson, making the application for police, told the court that Ordowski had two convictions for football related disorder.

In December 1997 Ordowski was sentenced to 160 hours community service for affray following an altercation with Millwall fans at Portman Road. He was also given an eight-month exclusion order from Portman Road.

In December 1999 he was jailed for two months and received a two-year football exclusion order after being convicted of threatening behaviour. The incident occurred at Ipswich train station after Ipswich had played Norwich City.

Giving evidence Pc King told the court that Ordowski had been seen in the vicinity of Portman Road (not inside the ground) on match days last season with other "Ipswich prominents".

He had also travelled to away games and been seen near stadiums, including Pride Park when Ipswich played Derby County on the last day of the season.

Tim Ridyard, for Ordowski, said that there was no suggestion that his client had breached his order or had incited violence at games since his last conviction.

Referring to video footage showing Ordowski in Ipswich town centre prior to the home game with Manchester City in May, Mr Ridyard said: "The video evidence amounts to nothing more than Mr Ordowski being seen on video footage for a very short period of time in an overt police operation."

He added that his client had only travelled to watch England abroad on one occasion - during Euro 2000.