The man accused of attacking Liverpool fan Sean Cox prior to the Reds’ UEFA Champions League match with AS Roma at Anfield has been found not guilty of inflicting grievous bodily harm.
Filippo Lombardi, 21, will go to jail for three years on a separate plea of violent disorder.
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Lombardi insists he’s not the man who attacked Cox, and that he didn’t notice Cox until he was lying on the ground.
Here’s what the judge told Lombardi at the trial, via the BBC:
“There is no doubt in my mind that your purpose was to cause a violent clash with the Liverpool fans... demonstrated vividly in film footage. The footage shows that you had an active role and your assertion in evidence and in your basis of plea that you were just looking for signs for away supporter sections and were suddenly confronted by Liverpool fans is, in my judgement, nonsense.”
The reports says Cox cannot speak above a whisper and cannot sit up unaided.
Cox and his battle have been supported on all sides, including AS Roma, after the senseless attack.
