Six years in prison for a kick in a soccer match that left an opponent in a wheelchair
The defendant had already been sent off with a direct red card and returned to the field to attack the opponent.
BarcelonaThere are incidents on the pitch that can go beyond the injuries any player knows they risk, and sometimes the consequences go beyond the scope of sports discipline and must end up in the hands of criminal law. This is what the Supreme Court (TS) says in the ruling this Tuesday that upheld a six-year prison sentence for a man who, during a veterans' match, lunged from behind at an opponent who was bending down to help a teammate who had fallen. He gained momentum and kicked him in the neck, causing an irreversible spinal cord injury, with tetraparesis that results in an 80% disability and requires an electric wheelchair.
In fact, to get to the opponent earlier, he had to jump onto the field from the touchline, where he had been since the eightieth minute of the match, as he had been sent off with a straight red card after another kick to the same opponent. It was the afternoon of April 26, 2014, and the match in the Badalona neighborhood of Lloreda pitted the local veterans against those of ECUA Calella, where the defendant played.
The first loud kick, which earned him his expulsion, came even though the ball was not in play. Already off the field, from the touchline, he continued to insult the same player: "I'll kill you, you bastard, son of a bitch, when you go out on the street I'll get you," states the Supreme Court ruling, which confirmed the sentence already handed down by the Barcelona Court in 2022. The defendant, when expelled from the match, was only expelled from the match, only for an argument between the players, and took advantage of the opportunity to unleash the aggression on his opponent that left him in a wheelchair.
In addition to the six-year prison sentence for aggravated bodily harm, the defendant must also pay €714,000 in compensation to the victim. In fact, this amount is the only point in the sentence that the Supreme Court has amended compared to the Barcelona Court's ruling, raising it by €55,000. However, the defendant has been acquitted of the charge of threatening the victim.
