British soccer fans jailed in Italy

FOUR Manchester United fans were jailed in Italy yesterday for their part in a fight with rival football supporters.

A British Embassy spokesman in Rome said that Kyle Dillon, 23, and Richard Wimmer, 39, had both been sentenced to two years and six months in prison. Nicholas Lucas, 18, and Michael Burk, 35, were both jailed for two years and five months, he said.

The four men were arrested on December 12 after fighting with AS Roma fans before the Champions League group game in the Italian capital.

They were charged with violent behaviour and resisting arrest after skirmishes broke out on the Duca d’Aosta bridge near the Stadio Olimpico, a well-known hangout for Roma’s hardline supporters or “Ultras”.

The men will appear in court on Monday, when an appeals tribunal will decide whether or not to release them. This would effectively mean they would be serving suspended sentences and raises the prospect that they could be home in time for Christmas.