Liverpool fan gets 15 years for takeaway attack
Michael Shields, 18, was convicted of throwing a brick at the head of barman Martin Georgiev, 25, during a takeaway shop fracas in Varna on May 30.
Shields was on holiday in the Black Sea resort after watching Liverpool win the Champions League final in Turkey.
He was arrested several hours after the attack but has always denied playing any part in it insisting he was asleep in his hotel room at the time and was a victim of mistaken identity.
His trial began last week but over the weekend another Liverpool fan 20-year-old electrician Graham Sankey appeared to admit responsibility for the attack. The Bulgarian court rejected Sankey's confession and proceeded with the trial. Shields was cleared of aggravated hooliganism but convicted of attempted murder.
Described by his family as "a gentle giant", the student sobbed as he was led from the courtroom.
Another Liverpool fan, 19-year-old Anthony Wilson, was cleared of hooliganism and convicted of possession of cannabis.
He was sentenced to two-and-a-half years imprisonment but the sentence was suspended, meaning he can return to Britian.
Shields' uncle, Joey Graney, was in court when the sentence was passed.
He said: "Michael was sobbing. He's an 18-year-old lad, quiet as a mouse, on his own, going back to a Bulgarian jail. What's he going to do?
"The trial was a circus from the start. As far as the Bulgarians were concerned, a local lad had been attacked and they wanted their scapegoat. "They did not care that Graham Sankey has confessed to carrying out the attack."
Mr Graney said Shields' parents, Michael and Maria Shields, were "distraught".
The family plans to appeal but will require Sankey to make a confession that is acceptable to the Bulgarians.
Liverpool Riverside MP Louise Ellman described the case as a "travesty of justice" and said she would be asking the Government to support Shields.
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