A Leeds United fan who slapped a police horse has narrowly avoided being banned from all football games.
Christopher Pitten, 18, of Holly Tree Lane, Colton, pleaded guilty to trying to enter a designated sports ground while drunk.
Blackpool Magistrates Court heard that Pitten was being disorderly when Blackpool played Leeds at Bloomfield Road on April 17.
When a mounted police officer took his ticket from him, he retaliated by slapping the horse, the court heard.
Magistrates, who were told Pitten had a previous conviction for throwing a missile at a football match, were asked to consider instigating an order to ban him from all matches.
But magistrates decided against an order as he had been accepted by the Army and it could jeopardise his career as a ban would put restrictions on his passport.
Instead they fined Pitten £65.