Another participant in the Cologne fan riots at the European Cup game in Nice has been sentenced.
Another rioter in the fan riots on the sidelines of the Conference League group game between OGC Nice and 1. FC Köln in September last year has been found guilty.
The 36-year-old was sentenced to six months in prison by the Cologne district court for dangerous bodily harm in combination with a breach of the peace. The sentence was suspended on probation. The presiding judge said of the outbreak of violence on the fringes of the football game: “Something escalated that shouldn’t have escalated.” The district judge explained that the judiciary had to send a clear signal to the population that something like this would not be accepted.
The prosecutor charged the accused with a “powerful karate kick in the face” of an opponent. Masked with a balaclava in the colors of the Cologne city coat of arms, the man could be identified on photos. Two tattoos located on his bare thighs were clearly visible. The defendant admitted to kicking the French fan, who was also violent, in court and regretted his involvement in the riots.
With the verdict, five people involved in the riots have been sentenced to suspended sentences of between six months and two years by the Cologne District Court; one defendant was acquitted. In January of this year, the district court of Bergisch-Gladbach had pronounced the toughest sentence to date against a rioter with a prison sentence of 18 months without probation. A further three Nice proceedings are currently pending at the Cologne district court.