A CRYSTAL Palace hooligan has been banned from watching his team play after assaulting a fellow fan at the Amex.

Colin Goff left Eagles supporter Garry Suckling with a bloodied nose when he attacked him at Albion’s FA Cup clash with their arch-rivals last month.

Goff, a mechanical project engineer, had been drinking in the build-up to the evening kick-off on January 8.

He was angered by Mr Suckling filming Goff and his friends, and their two groups became embroiled in a fight.

The 30-year-old, from Bexley, London, asked Mr Suckling to stop filming, and someone stole the victim’s phone, Brighton Magistrates’ Court heard.

Martyn Williams, defending, said his client “lost his temper” and got involved.

He said: “He fully accepts his behaviour was foolish.”

Goff, who works for Integral UK, has a degree from London’s South Bank University.

He pleaded guilty to assault by beating and was handed a three-year football banning order.

This means he must not attend the Amex stadium or Selhurst Park, Palace’s home ground, four hours before or four hours after a regulated football match.

District Judge Tessa Szagun initially thought Goff assaulted a Seagulls fan but he told her they supported the same team.

He said: “It was blue on blue.”

Judge Szagun ordered Goff to carry out 120 hours of unpaid work and wanted him to pay compensation to his victim.

Goff said he “tried to seek out” Mr Suckling to apologise but has not been able to.

The judge then deemed this not possible and told Goff he must pay £85 costs and £85 surcharge.

Initially, the rules of the banning order meant Goff could not be in a town or city where either Albion or Palace are playing four hours before and after matches, but Judge Szagun said this was not necessary because Goff has a low likelihood of repeating the offence.

When The Argus asked Goff if he had anything to say for himself after the case, he declined to comment.

Goff was one of six men arrested in connection with the Albion v Palace match, which the Seagulls won 2-1.

The two clubs have a deep-lying rivalry which has been prominent since the 1970s.

Last November, both sets of fans clashed as the two clubs faced each other for the first time in four years.