FOOTBALL thug Karl Burgess has today been given three months to prove he can behave himself and stay out of jail.Burgess, 26, of Rubens Road, Ipswich had been sent to Ipswich Crown Court for sentencing by magistrates in the town after admitting being drunk and abusive at Town's match against Coventry.

FOOTBALL thug Karl Burgess has been given three months to prove he can behave himself and stay out of jail.

Burgess, 26, of Rubens Road, Ipswich, was sent by magistrates to Ipswich Crown Court yesterdayfor sentencing after admitting being drunk and abusive at Ipswich Town's match against Coventry.

That put him in breach of a nine-month suspended sentence imposed after he admitted his part in a brawl at the Cricketers' Pub in Ipswich last year.

However Judge John Devaux decided against imposing an immediate penalty and deferred sentence until January 9 next year.

He said: “If you have kept out of trouble and are completing your unpaid work, you can expect a community sentence.

“If not you will be sentenced for these new offences and they will be served consecutively to the nine-month sentence which will be activated.”

Godfried Duah, prosecuting, said Burgess had admitted offences of using threatening behaviour and obstructing a police officer during the match on September 22.

Burgess, a scaffolder, climbed over seats and had been shouting and swearing at the match in front of families with children.

After ignoring warnings from stewards he was told to leave and when he refused to do so the police were called.

When the police arrived he struggled with them and was arrested.

South East Suffolk magistrates also imposed a three-year ban from any football match in England and Wales.

Mr Duah said Burgess's arrest put him in breach of the suspended sentence that had been imposed on June 29 after he admitted his part in the affray on August 19 last year.

The court had earlier heard Burgess had failed to turn up for some probation service appointments to undertake unpaid work that were also part of the sentence.

He had, however, completed more work and had now undertaken 33 hours out of the 50 hours he had originally been ordered to do. Judge Devaux ordered him to complete a further ten hours of unpaid work.

Russell Butcher, for Burgess, said he had felt he was being unfairly picked on at the football match because it was his companion who had been causing the initial trouble. However he accepted through his plea that he had behaved badly.