AN Austrian football fan has been banned from attending football matches in the UK after he was caught making racist chants at Middlesbrough's Riverside stadium.

Grazer AK supporter Martin Robier was heard making monkey chants when Boro striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink scored what turned out to be the winning goal during Thursday's Uefa cup tie.

Another fan among the 300 who made the trip from Arnold Schwarzenegger's home town of Graz to Teesside, Robert Schulhofer, was also banned after he was spotted throwing a metal object which bounced off a policeman's helmet and shouting abuse.

Through an interpreter they both pleaded guilty today at Teesside Magistrates and were banned for three years, fined £50 and ordered to pay £45 costs.

Outlining the case against Robier, prosecutor Peter Milne said: "When the goal was scored a steward saw Robier leave his seat and move to the stairwell where he made monkey sounds towards the player. The steward immediately took this to be racist chanting."

Mr Milne said that during police questioning Robier maintained he was not racist and that chanting was common in Austria if the team you supported was losing.

Mr Milne added: "He agreed that he would not have made the same noise if a white player had scored."

Schulhofer denied throwing the metal object but accepted he had been shouting abuse at police and stewards towards the end of the match. "They accepted after some contemplation that their actions were entirely unacceptable," said Paul Crocker in mitigation. "It's the first time they have been in trouble visiting a ground in another country or at home and they felt shamed at being arrested in full view of everyone else."

He added: "At the end of the day they will never return to the UK for a football related visit and they don't resist a banning order."