Roma fan sentenced to three and a half years for Anfield assault

LONDON (Reuters) - An AS Roma fan who assaulted a Liverpool supporter outside the English club's Anfield stadium last April, leaving him with severe brain injuries, was jailed for three-and-a-half years at Preston Crown Court on Thursday.

Roma fan sentenced to three and a half years for Anfield assault

(Reuters)





Simone Mastrelli, 30, had pleaded guilty to the attack on Irish father of three Sean Cox, 53, before a Champions League semi-final, first-leg match between the two sides.

Judge Mark Brown said in sentencing the Italian, who was extradited last month on a European Arrest Warrant, that Mastrelli had destroyed the life of an innocent man and his family.

AS Roma president James Pallotta, who made a personal donation of 50,000 euros ($56,900) towards the medical and rehabilitation costs, last April described the attack on Cox as "the most disgusting stupidity".

Cox's daughter Shauna said in a victim impact statement to the court that her father had gone to watch the match with his brother but "never came home".

"This violent and unprovoked attack on Dad left him in a dire situation. His future is uncertain and we don’t know how he will progress and that really frightens us," she said.

"The focus now is on getting him the proper care he needs."

















(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Toby Davis)


Share

1 min read

Published

Source: Reuters


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world