Fallen father in court
First trial postponed after Nice riots
09/15/2022, 9:49 p.m
At the Conference League game of 1. FC Köln in Nice, there are bad scenes: fans from both camps attack each other, there are injuries. A man falls from the middle tier of the stadium, sustains several fractures – and is himself the perpetrator.
The first trial over the riots on the sidelines of Bundesliga soccer team 1. FC Köln’s Conference League game last week at French first division club OGC Nice has been postponed by more than four months. According to information from the AFP news agency, the court granted the request of the 33-year-old bus driver from the greater Paris area to postpone the hearing in preparation for his defense and rescheduled the trial for January 25.
The defendant faces charges of violence, throwing dangerous objects and using pyrotechnics. According to the public prosecutor, the accused, who suffered fractures to eight ribs and a shoulder blade when he fell from the middle tier of the stands during the riots on the Cote d’Azur, is the father of two children and has no criminal record. If found guilty, the man faces up to three years in prison and a fine of up to 45,000 euros.
In justifying his application, the rioters showed the first signs of remorse. He spoke of endangering his family life. The accused also claimed that he was only in the stadium as a sympathizer for the people of Cologne. The man did not provide any information about any connections to the ultra scene of Nice’s archrival Paris St. Germain. In his first interrogation after his four-day stay in a hospital and temporary detention in police custody, the accused refused to testify.
Until the beginning of his trial, the man was placed under judicial supervision with reporting requirements. In addition, the accused was banned from entering football stadiums or other sports arenas for the same period. 32 people were injured in the riots surrounding the encounter. In the first half of the week, 1. FC Köln had sharply condemned the acts of violence committed by their supporters when the Rhinelanders made their comeback to the European Cup, but still fear a severe penalty from the European association UEFA.