THUG GIVEN TWO YEARS
A FOOTBALL fan who was cleared of manslaughter has been jailed for two years after punching a rival who later died.
Millwall supporter Andrew Lewis admitted inflicting grievous bodily harm on Paul O’Donnell, 56, in a car park outside Nottingham’s City Ground.
The 50-year-old downed seven pints of lager before the Friday fixture on August 4 last year.
He said he hit Mr O’Donnell because he was saying: “West Ham” at him.
Leicester Crown Court heard how the victim suffered a skull fracture and bleeding on the brain as a result of an “entirely unnecessary as well as aggressive blow”.
Notts Forest fan Mr O’Donnell was found in a critical condition two weeks later at his house in Newark after falling down the stairs.
He was pronounced dead in hospital on August 24.
Prosecutor Miranda Moore QC told the court doctors could not definitively say the injuries caused by Lewis, of Bromley, south London, had been directly responsible for his death. She said no evidence would be offered on the manslaughter charge and Judge Gregory Dickinson QC said he would be directing a not guilty verdict. The court was told Lewis had a 2004 conviction for assaulting a taxi driver in Cardiff the same weekend Millwall played Manchester United in the FA Cup final in the city.