German fan jailed for 18 months for lighting flare

BERLIN: Germany is continuing its zero tolerance approach to football supporters lighting flares in Bundesliga grounds after a Schalke supporter was jailed for 18 months on Thursday with no parole.
Both the German Football League (DFL) and the German Football Association (DFB) are eager to stamp out the regular occurence of fans lighting flares in stadiums and the lack of parole sends a clear message to other supporters.
The 25-year-old was part of a gang who lit 19 flares in Schalke’s home game against Eintracht Frankfurt in November 2012 at Gelsenkirchen’s Veltins Arena.
Because of the smoke from the flares, of the type which are often used by ships in distress, eight spectators in the nearby area had to be treated for smoke inhalation, including a 12-year-old child.
The 25-year-old, who belongs to the group of Schalke ultra fans known as ‘Hugos’, had originally been given a suspended sentence by a local court in Gelsenkirchen.
But state prosecutors appealed to the regional court in Essen, because the individual concerned was a repeat offender, and the sentence was confirmed Thursday by Hamm’s Higher Regional Court.