The Aix-en-Provence court found Russian fans Pavel Kosov and Mikhail Ivkin guilty of beating up English fan Andrew Bache after the match between the national teams of Russia and England at the 2016 European Football Championship.

Pavel Kosov was sentenced to ten years in prison, Mikhail Ivkin - to three. 

As the lawyer of Mikhail Ivkin, Nikita Sychev, said, before the verdict was pronounced, the accused spoke before the jury with the last word.

Mikhail Ivkin pleaded not guilty to any of the charges.

Pavel Kosov said that there was no malicious intent in his actions and said that he regrets the consequences.

After the defendants spoke, the jury retired to deliberation.

As noted by Sychev, the jury spent more than five hours in the deliberation room, after which the verdict was announced.

“Mikhail Ivkin was sentenced to three years in prison, Pavel Kosov - to ten.

After serving their sentence, they are banned from entering France.

Ivkin will be denied entry for three years, Kosov - forever, ”Sychev told RT.

He noted that since the time spent in prison under investigation was credited to the sentence, Ivkin could return home in the near future.

Detention 

Mikhail Ivkin and Pavel Kosov were detained in Germany in February 2018 at the request of the French authorities.

The Russians were heading to Spain, where Spartak played the Europa League match against Athletic Bilbao. 

After being detained, they were charged with “organized violence with the use of weapons,” that is, they acted in collusion.

According to the French police, on June 11, 2016, after the match between the national teams of Russia and England at the 2016 European Football Championship, Ivkin, Kosov and another unknown attacked the Englishman Andrew Bach and inflicted grievous bodily harm.

As explained by law enforcement officers, they managed to figure out the attackers by recordings from video cameras and photographs in social networks. 

Video footage of the brawl shows a man in a white T-shirt and black shorts hitting Andrew Beitch in the head, according to media reports.

According to the investigation, it was Pavel Kosov.

Another attacker, in blue shorts and a gray hooded sweatshirt, who hit the Englishman with a chair, was identified as Mikhail Kosov. 

In December 2017, Interpol received a message about the need to detain Ivkin and Kosov if they crossed the border.

After the arrest, the Russians were transported to Marseille and placed in a local prison. 

Selfish desire

On December 7, 2020, the jury began hearings in the criminal case of Russian fans.

Relatives and friends of the Russians acted as witnesses, giving testimony via video link at the French Embassy in Moscow.

“During the meeting, a Scotland Yard employee was summoned and said that she had no evidence that Ivkin and Kosov had previously known each other.

This shocked everyone.

It turns out that for two years the investigators actually understood what was not there, ”says the lawyer of Mikhail Ivkin, Pyotr Kurshin, to RT. 

In his opinion, the entire accusation against the Russians is based on the selfish desire of the Briton to receive as much compensation as possible.

“The examination revealed 1.9 ppm of alcohol in him.

That is, at the time of the fight, he was dead drunk.

Then, when he fell and hit his head on the paving stones, he passed out.

Firefighters found him and assumed he was dead.

It turned out that he did not die, but was very drunk and fell into a coma.

Later he came to his senses and returned to his homeland.

We have photographs from 2017 and 2018, where he goes to the matches calmly, drinks beer and feels great, ”explains Kurshin.

The relatives of Pavel and Mikhail are sure that their case is politicized.

“It was a banal fight.

This is no armed group, this is all invented.

They didn't even know each other.

And they don't give 15 years for a fight.

Everyone who fought there has long been at large.

And this happens to us because we are Russians.

When I sent my son to the championship, I could not even imagine that he would end up in such a nativity scene: they were surrounded there, and they were beaten, and they were driven along the side streets.

And even more so I could not imagine that everything would end in prison, ”says Pavel Kosov's mother Irina.

The wife of Mikhail Ivkina Julia is in solidarity with her.

According to her, her husband's business would have ended well long ago if he had not been a Russian.

“We asked that Misha be under house arrest before the trial.

All documents were perfect.

We had a job for Misha, housing, they even promised us to put cameras to keep track of him.

But they all told us directly there that we would sit because we are Russians, ”the woman says.

According to Yulia, it was very difficult for her to be left without a husband: the family has three children, and Mikhail was the only breadwinner.

If not for the help of relatives and friends all these years, she would not have coped.