Five Birmingham City fans were jailed and another given a suspended sentence yesterday for their part in the "collective madness" that blinded a steward in one eye.
Disorder broke out at Cardiff City's home ground, Ninian Park, during a match against Blues last August, Cardiff Crown Court heard.
Fans standing at the away supporters' end started ripping chairs out of the ground and throwing them, and other missiles, including coins and a lump of concrete, were also flung.
One of the missiles hit steward Roger Llewellyn-Mortimer in the face, permanently blinding him in the left eye. In a statement read to the court, Mr Llewellyn-Mortimer, who has worked in events security for more than 10 years, described the behaviour of some of the Birmingham supporters as "unbelievable".
Describing the moment an item was thrown from the stand, hitting his left eye, he said: "The force was unbelievable. It felt like I'd been hit with a good hard punch."
Peter Davies, prosecuting, said Carol Burgess, attending the game with her husband and children aged six and 10 after buying tickets as a birthday treat, was physically sick after leaving Ninian Park.
Another fan suffered a blow to his head, and a £2 coin was later recovered from where he sat. The man, a Birmingham City supporter since 1953, said in a statement read to the court: "The violence I've seen that day was the worse I've ever seen."
The six fans identified from footage recorded during the game and who all admitted affray were Martin Bowman (36), of Eastfield Road, Bordesley Green; Mark Brennan (31), of Tibland Road, Birmingham; Lee Devine (32), of Chisholm Grove, Acocks Green; James Ryan McCarthy (24), of Lapworth Oaks, Lap-worth, Solihull; Billy Whiteside (18), of Addenbrooke Road, Smethwick, Sandwell, and Martin Leslie Morgan (52), of St Helens Road, Solihull.
The court heard that other men were also involved and it is not known who threw the missile that injured Mr Llewellyn-Mortimer.
McCarthy wrote a letter to Judge Michael Burr, who told him: "You expressed your concern at the way you and others got caught up in this collective madness on the day that resulted in such distress."
Bowman was sentenced to eight months in prison and Brennan to three months.
Devine, who has 22 previous convictions and was given a football banning order in May, was sentenced to four months imprisonment; McCarthy to three months and Whiteside to three months in a young offenders' institution.
Each will serve half the sentence in custody. Morgan was given a three-month sentence, suspended for 12 months.
Bowman, Brennan, Devine, McCarthy and Whiteside were given six-year football banning orders, while Morgan will be banned from attending games for three years.
