AS Roma fan to stand trial in Preston accused of attack on Liverpool supporter
AS Roma fan Filippo Lombardi, 21 will stand trial for the attack on Liverpool fan Sean Cox, which left him fighting for his life after the Champions League semi-final between the clubs on April 24.
Lombardi is charged with inflicting grievous bodily harm on Mr Cox, 53, who travelled from Ireland to watch the match.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdHe and another AS Roma fan, Daniele Sciusco, are also charged with violent disorder in relation to the match.
Lombardi, 21, of Viale Antonio Ciamarra, Rome, and Sciusco, 29, of no fixed address but from Rome, appeared at Liverpool Crown Court this morning, where a judge adjourned the matter for trial at Preston Crown Court on October 8.
Trouble broke out at the match in Liverpool city centre before the game, which was attended by more than 51,000 fans, including around 5,000 supporters from Italy.
Mr Cox, from Dunboyne, County Meath, sustained a severe bleed on brain and underwent a major operation before doctors put him in an induced coma.
The dad-of-three suffered serious head injuries and still remains in hospital at Walton Neurological Centre, with his wife Martina at his bedside.