The jury trial of seven Dundee United fans accused of fighting with Dinamo Moscow supporters during a Europa League qualifier last year has collapsed.
The trial, before Sheriff Hughes, had heard several days of evidence before objections were raised as to the admissibility of some of the photographic evidence being shown.
The trial eventually collapsed more than a week ago. However, as the Crown appealed the not guilty verdict, reporting restrictions were placed on the case until after the appeals process.
The Crown eventually decided not to appeal the decision and Sheriff Hughes lifted the restriction on Friday following an application by Lauren Rae of Thorntons Solicitors on behalf of The Courier.
One of the police witnesses whose evidence Sheriff Hughes told the jury to subsequently disregard was PC Colin Anderson.
Constable Anderson, a football “spotter” whose role involved identifying potential troublemakers at games, said he had approached one of the accused a month after the European tie outside a pub and asked him to come in for questioning.
During the trial, PC Anderson was taken through a series of photographs taken at the Dynamo Moscow tie, although he had not personally attended the game.
Darren John Elder, 23, of Broadford Terrace; David Edward Mark Lawson, 26, of Grampian Gardens; Sean Duffy, 24, of Muirfield Crescent; Greg Campbell, 29, of Finavon Place; Kevin Drummond, 32, no fixed abode; Rory Mulligan, 30, of Findowrie Street; and Dale Kelly, 24, of Byron Terrace, all denied that on August 2 2012, at Tannadice Park, they engaged in behaviour likely to incite public disorder.
It was alleged they repeatedly threw unknown items from the upper tier of the Fair Play Stand on to persons below, then engaged in a fight with opposing fans.
All bar Lawson entered a special defence that their actions were in defence of the elderly, women and children who were attending the match.
Sheriff Hughes said that a “substantial” number of photos had been used by the Crown, but no evidence was presented of who took the photos, if the photo books were in sequence or who compiled them.
He said: “The evidence contained within these books as productions are inadmissible. After reviewing all the evidence it is quite clear that there is no corroborative evidence against the first six accused.”
On the seventh accused, Dale Kelly, Sheriff Hughes said that while a witness saw a person involved in a fight wearing a white shirt and dark trousers, “there was more than one person wearing a white shirt and dark trousers”.
He concluded: “In all the circumstances I will direct the jury to return a not guilty verdict.”