It's a joke and he is clearly lying. I'd say that he was intent on causing injury to Sean and therefore he should be heavily punished. When anyone lashes out at an innocent person then they are not in control of the end result (similar to violent conduct in football.......if you tackle somebody and are not in control then it's a red card even if you don't injure the other player).
i
If you swing your belt at somebody and miss then it should be treated in exactly the same way as if you connected and caused serious injury. Anyone doing this in, say a shopping mall at innocent bystanders would be dealt with very severely.
Violent attacks by fans should be dealt with by long jail sentences as a deterrent to other idiots.
I agree with you. Of course he is lying. He's trying to save his skin. That little crew of theirs were clearly looking for trouble and knew exactly what they were doing.
The taking off of belts and using the buckle as a weapon is a common tactic from Italian thugs. Napoli did the same last time they were here. When you swing a belt buckle at someone you know full well you are risking a lethal outcome. It's like sticking a knife in someone. A lottery. On one hand you could hurt someone, on the other, you could kill them. When you willingly swing that belt, you have no way of knowing which outcome will arise. Swinging a heavy buckle at someone should be classed the same as swinging a blade at someone. It shouldn't matter if you connect or not, because your intent is clear.
Also, it's laughable of this scumbag to make out he was scared for his safety. He was part of a gang clearly looking to cause trouble with innocent match-goers. It was them who attacked people for no reason whatsoever. They were in no danger at all, and if they had simply walked around to their own end like the rest of their following then nothing would have happened. They had already walked to the ground from town, so I'm sure they could have managed another hundred yards or so without issue if they so wished. Anyone involved in these premeditated, savage attacks should be handed long sentences. No ifs or buts. The Italian authorities don't seem interested in sorting these types out, but if they act like savages over here then we should throw the book at them and show them it will not be tolerated here.
Oh, and while we are at it, I do hope the police have learned from this and are a lot tougher and more proactive when Napoli bring their own morons over in the CL. They are really big on belt buckle swinging.
