French fan jailed for firework attack on Lyon goalkeeper

METZ, France: A French judge on Monday handed down a six-month jail term and a six-month suspended sentence to two fans found guilty of throwing fireworks that put Lyon goalkeeper Anthony Lopes in hospital in 2016.

The first firework thrown from behind the Lyon goal on their visit to Metz knocked Lopez off his feet, while the second one exploded beneath him as he fell on it, leaving him temporarily deafened and with no sense of balance.

Players from both teams remonstrated angrily with supporters behind the goal as Lopes was rushed away following the explosion.One 25-year-old man was handed a six-month jail sentence while a 36-year-old was handed a suspended term. Both were members of a Metz ultras supporter group known as ‘la Horda Frenetik’.The prosecutor said the pair were guilty of “an incredibly dangerous disregard for safety”.