A FOOTBALL steward has been convicted of assaulting a fan at a Bolton Wanderers match.

Steven Maloney was working at the Reebok Stadium last September. A row broke out when his colleagues asked Whites’ fan William Green to leave.

Another Wanderers supporter, 18-year-old David Golding, filmed the incident and one unidentified steward reached out with his hands to get him to stop filming.

A few seconds later, 33-year-old Maloney shoved Mr Golding and knocked the phone out of his hand.

After the match, against Derby County, the incident was reported to police.

Maloney, of Larkhill Avenue, Standish, Wigan, was charged with assault and criminal damage of the phone.

Maloney denied both charges and was found guilty after a trial at Bolton Magistrates’ Court.

Magistrates fined Maloney £270 and ordered him to pay £240 compensation to Mr Golding as well as £200 court costs and a £27 victim surcharge.

After the hearing, Wanderers refused to say if they had sacked Maloney, and would only say they had “taken relevant action and have dealt with the matter internally”.

In the same season, police used restorative justice to ask another Wanderers steward to write an apology to Reading fan Charlie Ditchburn after he was manhandled out of the stadium, shoved up against a wall and then pushed away at a match last August.

Despite the two incidents, Wanderers bosses will not say if they have given extra training to their stewards to ensure they treat fans with courtesy.

The Security Industry Authority said the conviction does not prevent Maloney from stewarding at football matches, but it effectively bans him from working at other events at the stadium, such as music concerts, and he cannot work as a pub doorman.

Football Supporters’ Federation caseworker Amanda Jacks said: “We are pleased at the outcome of this case.

“Supporters need to have confidence that the people responsible for their safety are held to account when they act with unnecessary aggression.”

Mr Golding declined to comment.