A man who had a flare at the Crystal Palace game last summer will fight an application to ban him from attending football matches.

Alfie Ashcroft, 20, of Heaver, Kent, had been due before Oxford Magistrates’ Court on Monday (March 6) for possession of a firework or flare at a sporting event, an offence under the Sporting Events Act of 1985.

He had pleaded guilty in January to being in possession of the item at the Kassam Stadium on August 23 last year, when Oxford United was knocked out of the Carabao Cup by Crystal Palace.

The London side beat the U's 2-0 that day.

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However, the case was adjourned by district judge Kamlesh Rana until May 17 to deal with a contested application by the prosecution for a football banning order.

That application, if successful, could see Ashcroft prevented from attending games and depending on the wording of the order could stop him from being near stadiums on match day.

The hearing in May is expected to last around two hours.