Irish soccer fan jailed for eight months in Paris for assault

An Irish football fan has been jailed for eight months by a French court over an assault in Paris earlier this month.

The incident occurred at the Gare du Nord, one of the French capital's busiest train stations, in the early hours of June 15th - two days after Ireland drew with Sweden in its opening game of the Euro 2016 group stage. It is understood the incident involved another football fan.

David Hunt (35) from Ballinteer in Dublin, who travelled to France for the tournament, was arrested by station police over an alleged assault and appeared in court two days later, an official at the office of the Paris public prosecutor told The Irish Times.

Mr Hunt was given an eight month sentence and transferred to a prison in the Paris region. He has lodged an appeal against his conviction but the appeal has not yet been heard.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it was aware of the case and was providing consular assistance through the embassy in Paris and its consular division in Dublin.

Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo announced earlier this week that fans from the Republic and Northern Ireland would receive an honorary medal from the city for their behaviour during Euro 2016.

“The supporters from Ireland and Northern Ireland have distinguished themselves by their exemplary attitude, fair play and good mood,” Ms Hidalgo said in a statement.

Euro 2016 has been largely incident-free since violent clashes marred a group game between England and Russia in Marseille early in the tournament.