UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin has spoken out on the incident which saw Irish Liverpool fan Sean Cox hospitalised after he was attacked by Roma fans outside Anfield hours before their Champions League semi-final at Anfield. The Slovenian was speaking to Italy's La Stampa, and reckons that punishing Roma for the actions of their fans is not the answer:
We're continuing to talk about it, but really -- I don't know whether punishing the club for the unpredictable action of one idiot would change the situation. We need to ensure normal justice systems are more severe with these people.
We need to collaborate. For the game against Liverpool [in Rome], the Italian government gave great support and the police protected the fans. That's the way to do things -- expand the security operations on the table.
Two Italian men have since been charged over the incident and are being remanded until a court appearance at Liverpool Crown Court on Thursday 24 May. Filippo Lombardi (20) has been charged with violent disorder and wounding/inflicting grievous bodily harm, while Daniele Sciusco (29) faces a charge of violent disorder.
That Ceferin would single out 'one' idiot is slightly disingenuous, seeing as it was a group of Roma fans that committed the attack at Anfield.
The latest update on Sean Cox is that that the 53-year-old remains in a critical condition in Walton Centre in Liverpool, having had surgery on his brain for bleeding.
