The riots at the European Cup match between Nice and 1. FC Köln have legal repercussions for an FC supporter.

A good four months after the football riots in Nice, a fan of the Bundesliga club 1. FC Köln has been sentenced to 18 months in prison without probation for aggravated breach of the peace and dangerous bodily harm. In her reasoning for the sentence on Wednesday at the Bergisch Gladbach District Court, the judge attested to the confessed defendant (36)’s “credible remorse”, but expressed doubts about his assertion that he had “detached himself from the scene”. The verdict is not yet final.

The court fell just short of the prosecution’s demand for a prison sentence of one year and nine months without probation. The scaffolder from Bergisch Gladbach’s long-standing affiliation to the scene and his previous convictions had a negative effect on the sentence. On various videos shown in court, the family man, who had been in custody for the past 113 days, could be seen in a physical altercation with an opposing fan in the stands of the Nice stadium.

Prior to the Conference League match on 8 September 2022 in the southern French city, there had been serious rioting between supporters of 1 FC Cologne and OGC Nice. Therefore, the match had started with a delay of almost one hour. Over 40 people were injured, including nine police officers.