Probation sentence for brutal referee clubs from Münster

• fromJens Joachim

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Persistent soccer player sentenced to 15 months in prison for dangerous bodily harm. 28-year-old was annoyed about being sent off and knocked the referee out.

A 28-year-old man from Münster, who in the fall of last year knocked out a referee during an amateur football game in Münster in the Darmstadt-Dieburg district, was sentenced to a 15-month suspended sentence by the Dieburg District Court. The unemployed man must also take part in anti-aggression training. In addition, the father of a five-year-old daughter has to do 200 hours of community service or – if he starts a job that is subject to social security contributions – pay 2000 euros to a referee association.

Prosecutor Alessandro Di Maria had charged the man with dangerous bodily harm after he suddenly knocked the referee in the face on October 27, 2019 during the district league encounter between FSV Münster and TV Semd due to annoyance at a dismissal, so that the referee fell to the ground went and lay unconscious on the floor for several minutes. The victim suffered a concussion as a result. He had to be taken to a Mainz clinic by a rescue helicopter and was unable to work for three weeks. The case had drawn attention far beyond Hesse. Hessian Minister of the Interior and Sports Peter Beuth (CDU) had called for clear sanctions and tougher punishments for violence in sports.

Prosecutor asks 18 months for probation for referee thugs

In his plea, the prosecutor’s representative requested that the defendant be sentenced to a one-and-a-half-year suspended sentence and that he be ordered to pay a 2500 euro fine. The fist hit “the nerve of the population,” said Di Maria.

A soccer field is “not a legal space”. The act of violence was “potentially life-threatening”. The blow was so violent that the referee “fell as if struck by lightning”.

Arbitrator’s lawyer joins prosecutor

Tobias Reinhart, the co-plaintiff’s lawyer, pointed out the psychological consequences of the fact, because the victim had now decided, out of fear of similar acts, to stop acting as a referee in amateur football. Reinhart said he found the prosecutor Di Maria’s sentence for dangerous bodily harm “appropriate”.

Referee racket from Münster shows remorse

Heinz-Jürgen Borowsky, the lawyer of the confessed and not previously convicted, announced that he would hand over pain and suffering, travel expenses, expenses and attorney fees amounting to around 4,400 euros to the lawyer of the injured party. However, the defense lawyer argued that the defendant should only be sentenced for simple bodily harm. Borowsky did not want to demand a specific sentence.

Judge: “A Brutal and Ruthless Violence”

Judge Christian Meisinger described the act of violence in public, which was documented with a video, as “brutal and ruthless”. After taking the evidence, the court assumed that the act was to be regarded as dangerous bodily harm because it was to be regarded as a “life-threatening act” by the accused, said judge Meisinger. The blow to the victim’s head was also life-threatening for the medical experts. The judgment is not final.

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