Simone Mastrelli, 30, has been jailed for three-and-a-half years for the assault of Sean Cox, 53, outside Anfield ahead of a Champions League tie between Liverpool and Roma last April.

Earlier, the Italian national pleaded guilty to assaulting Liverpool FC supporter Sean Cox outside Anfield stadium.

Father-of-three Mr Cox (53) from Dunboyne in Co Meath, suffered catastrophic head injuries in the attack ahead of the Champions League semi-final first leg tie between Liverpool and AS Roma on April 24 last year.

He has been recovering at the National Rehabilitation Hospital in Dun Laoghaire after he spent four-and-a-half weeks at the Walton Centre in Liverpool, a specialist neurological unit for brain injuries, following the incident.

On Thursday, Simone Mastrelli (30) from Rome appeared from custody at Preston Crown Court and entered a guilty plea to unlawfully and maliciously inflicting grievous bodily harm on Mr Cox.

A separate count of violent disorder was allowed to lie on file by the Crown Prosecution Service after it accepted his not guilty plea to the charge.

Mr Cox’s wife, Martina, was in court for the hearing.

Mastrelli was extradited to the UK last month after being arrested on a European Arrest Warrant in his home country.

Another Roma fan, Filippo Lombardi (21) was cleared of inflicting grievous bodily harm on Mr Cox in October, though he was jailed for three years for violent disorder.

A third man, Daniele Sciusco, 29, from Rome, admitted violent disorder ahead of the match and was jailed for two-and-a-half years in August 2018.

The court heard the Mr Cox was knocked to the ground, unconscious, by a single punch from Mastrelli after he and his brother, Martin, had “sadly by pure coincidence” entered the path of a group of Roma’s “Ultra” fans including the defendant.

Footage of the incident in Walton Breck Road, near The Albert pub, was played in court and shows Mastrelli initially aggressively confronting Mr Cox with his arms raised.

Lombardi then comes to the fore and raises a belt as Mastrelli moves back and then, from Mr Cox’s right-hand side, he forcibly punches him to the face.

A witness described the incident as a “sudden and unprovoked attack” and a “sickening sight”.

Keith Sutton, prosecuting, said Mastrelli immediately moved away as Mr Cox lay motionless on the ground, and checked that his face covering was in place as he blended in with a group of Roma fans.

Mastrelli left the scene but later returned to Walton Breck Road and had taken steps to change his appearance by removing his face covering, his hood and the jacket he had been wearing. He then entered the ground to watch the match.

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