A 19-year-old former soccer player was again sentenced to a conditional prison sentence of nine months despite a relevant criminal record. On April 3, 2022, during a match between two Viennese lower-league clubs, he headbutted an opponent and then kicked him in the head. The judgment is final.
The range of penalties is six months to five years if serious bodily harm or damage to the health of the other person is caused. Kicker, who was nine years his senior, collapsed unconscious and was taken to a hospital in a rescue helicopter. The 28-year-old suffered a severe concussion and had to be intubated. In addition, he – a prison guard by profession – suffered abrasions on his face and minor motor damage to the radial nerve.
The violent scenes took place in a 1st class A match in Vienna-Favoriten. First, the 28-year-old conceded a “headbutt” from the younger opponent, whose team was 2-0 down at the time, after which the attacked player hit back. The result was a scuffle, during which the 19-year-old’s younger brother, who was a spectator, stormed onto the field and also attacked the 28-year-old. According to the public prosecutor’s office, the 19-year-old then knocked him out by kicking the opposing kicker in the face with his football boots.
The seriously injured man had to be put into artificial deep sleep in the hospital. He was hospitalized for two days before being released into home care. According to him, the prison guard was in severe pain until mid-May and is still suffering from the consequences of the assault.
The 19-year-old pleaded guilty in court. After mutual pushing, “the whole thing then escalated,” said the accused. “It was the adrenaline.” The kick in the opponent’s face happened “out of reflex”. “I didn’t want to intentionally hurt him,” said the young man, who has since retired from football. He has also completed anti-violence training and is in close contact with his probation officer. However, when the representative of private parties, Nikolaus Rast, asked for more details, it turned out that the 19-year-old had already done this training in 2021 and did so in the course of his last conviction for bodily harm in February 2020, where he was also sentenced to conditional imprisonment by the regional court has been. The public prosecutor’s office has applied for the suspended sentence to be revoked, but now only the probationary period has been extended.
“You have to work on it. This is the last time you will get a conditional sentence,” said judge Michaela Röggla in her verdict. The confession – which is why the witnesses were not questioned – the provocation of the victim in advance and the acknowledgment of the private party connection in the amount of 3,410 euros were rated as mitigating. The 19-year-old, who was placed on probation, now has to go back to anti-violence training.
Source: Nachrichten
