Tyler Hobden: Windsor man punched football rival in Bracknell

Tyler Hobden, of Perrycroft, Windsor was playing a Sunday league game in April 2019 when he exchanged taunts with the captain of the opposition.

In the second half, he took over as a linesman but at the end of the game, he confronted the rival player.

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Reading Crown Court heard how Hobden punched the footballer in the side of the head after a comment was made about his mother.

The captain suffered two fractures to his jawbone, as well as bleeding and swelling to his face.

He was taken to hospital where a metal plate was inserted into his head.

Tyler Hobden custody image from 2015 via TVP.

Chris Harper, prosecuting, said: “It was a response to the words exchanged between them which made reference to Mr Hobden’s mother.”

Following the altercation, Reading Crown Court heard how Hobden called the rival player to say he would help him find the person who punched him.

Mr Harper suggested he did this either to throw the police investigation off or to intimidate the victim.

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The court heard how Hobden has five convictions for eleven offences, including grievous bodily harm in 2011 and racially aggravated harassment of tube workers in December 2019.

He was serving a two-year suspended prison sentence for dealing class B drugs at the time of the punching incident.

Hobden, who owns a carpet fitting and flooring business, was convicted following a trial in May 2022 after a jury in an initial trial failed to come to an agreement on a verdict in August 2021.

Rhian Wood, defending, said Hobden did have remorse after Mr Recorder Richards expressed his doubt that the defendant was sorry for his actions.

She said Hobden was ‘making steps’ to help with his anger management, including paying to see a counsellor.

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The defendant experienced a ‘turning point’ in his life in 2020, Ms Wood argued, although Recorder Richards appeared to disagree with this assessment.

Despite this, the judge spared Hobson jail time and handed him a 12-month prison sentence suspended for 18 months.

He will have to undertake 19 days of the Thinking Skills programme, 15 days of rehabilitation activities, and 200 hours of unpaid work.

Hobson will also have to pay £1,000 to his victim, £800 in prosecution costs and £200 for breaching his suspended sentence order.

The defendant was sentenced at Reading Crown Court on Wednesday, June 29.