Two Russian men, Mikhail Ivkin and Pavel Kosov, have been sentenced to prison in France for beating a British football fan during the UEFA Euro 2016 tournament, with prosecutors qualifying the attack as an act of violence.
The incident took place in June 2016 when Russian and English football fans clashed on the streets of Marseille.
Following the brawl, UK citizen Andrew Bache was found unconscious with a severe head injury. The street brawl was captured on camera with prosecutors insisting that Ivkin and Kosov, who are seen on the video, brutally beat Bache, causing severe injuries which left him permanently disabled.
⚖️?? #Marseille – #Euro2016 : jusqu’à 15 ans de #prison requis contre deux Russes accusés d’avoir tabassé et laissé pour mort un supporter anglais #AndrewBache#Tribunal#Assises#Hooligans#Footballhttps://t.co/Rq8RVv87nN via @lindependant
The third suspect who was seen delivering a savage punch while the victim was lying lifeless on the ground has still not been identified.
Kosov was sentenced to 10 years for punching Bache, while Ivkin received a three-year sentence for throwing a chair at the victim. The Russian men’s lawyers said that there was not enough evidence to prove their guilt, as the image clearly showed that the thrown chair barely touched Bache and couldn’t have caused serious harm to his health.
The Russians were detained in Germany in 2018 before being sent to France, where they have been held in prison for almost two years.
According to RBK, Ivkin could soon be released on parole as he has already spent two years in pre-sentence custody, thus reducing his jail sentence, while Kosov might serve the remainder of his sentence in his home country upon the request of Russian officials.
Both men have been banned from returning to France after they have served their sentences.
