A football fan who admitted to drinking five cans of lager before falling from the upper tier of a stand onto rival supporters below has been found not guilty of assault. John Ryan, 62, broke down in tears at Ipswich Crown Court after the jury returned verdicts of not guilty, saying the court case had been ‘very stressful’.Maidstone United fan Ryan had attended Ipswich’s Portman Road to back the non-league side in their FA Cup clash against the Tractor Boys in January 2024. During the celebrations of a Maidstone goal, Ryan ended up on the edge of the upper tier roof, before falling onto Ipswich fans below. Joanne Peters and her partner Aaron Rose were left injured. Ryan had been one of thousands of travelling fans backing the FA Cup underdogs in Suffolk, which he described in court as ‘the biggest match in the club’s history’. The jury heard how he had been in the Cobbold Stand upper tier when the ‘special’ goal went in, before he fell, slid down the sloping roof above the hospitality boxes and landed on Ipswich fans below. A football fan, 62, has been accused of deliberately launching himself at rival fans from a roofThe 62-year-old – who told the court he drank five cans of lager before the 12.30pm fixture – told the jury he had been unsure whether he had been pushed or his foot had slipped when he fell. Ryan was found not guilty of one count of assault by beating and one count of actual bodily harm.Following the verdict, he told reporters:’When you score a goal like that the last thing on your mind is what’s going to happen.’I just remember going down the stairs and I hit that barrier, fell over it and that was it.’Asked if he would like to say anything to Peters and Rose, Ryan said: ‘I’m sorry, it was an accident.’I’m sorry it happened, what more can I say?’