Zurich court sentences FCZ fan for throwing torch
Published: Tuesday, Mar 19th 2024, 12:50
Back to Live Feed
The Zurich District Court has sentenced an FCZ fan to 17 months' imprisonment for attempted grievous bodily harm. The 23-year-old Swiss national threw a lit torch in the direction of opposing fans after a football match in October 2021.
The prison sentence was suspended on probation for a probationary period of two years. This means that the convicted person will only have to go to prison if he commits another offense within the probationary period. In addition to the prison sentence, he received a fine of 200 francs and must pay the costs of the proceedings amounting to more than 3,000 francs.
As requested by the public prosecutor, the court judged the torch throw to be attempted grievous bodily harm. The defendant said during the trial that he had not intended to injure anyone with the torch.
His defense lawyer referred to video recordings which allegedly show that the flare landed on the deserted tartan track and not in the opposing fan sector. The accused should therefore be acquitted of the charge of attempted grievous bodily harm.
The incident occurred during the Zurich city football derby between FC Zurich and GC Zurich at Letzigrund Stadium on October 23, 2021. Around 60 FCZ supporters stormed onto the pitch and towards the GCZ fan sector after the end of the match.
According to the public prosecutor's office, several burning sea rescue flares were thrown in the direction of the GC fans. These heat up to 2000 degrees Celsius and can cause severe burns.
The judgment of the District Court of Zurich is not yet legally binding. It can be appealed to the High Court.
©Keystone/SDA
English 
German 
French 
Spanish 
Arabic