3 Croatian fans get 4 months in jail for Paris brawl
Three Croatian supporters of football club Dinamo Zagreb, who were arrested in the French capital after clashes with Paris Saint-Germain fans, were sentenced on Thursday by a French court to four months in prison. The court also fined three PSG supporters between 800 and 1,000 euros $1,000-1275) each over the brawl on the eve of the two sides' Champions League game in Paris. The scuffles on Monday ended with 24 people being arrested, and with one Croat supporter seriously injured, according to police, who intervened near the Place de la Bastille and restored calm shortly before midnight. On Thursday, the court said the Croatian fans "came to fight and only for that", noting that at the site of the brawl, one was carrying a crutch without any medial reason, another was carrying a truncheon and the third had a belt rolled around his hand. It also banned them from travelling to Paris and the region for five years. The prosecution had sought six-month jail terms. During the trial, the three Croatians denied being part of a group of supporters and said they were in Paris for tourism. On Sunday French Interior Minister Manuel Valls had imposed a travel ban on Dinamo fans coming to France for the match.
