An Italian court on Tuesday sentenced a football fan to 18 months in jail, suspended for five years, for groping a TV journalist reporting live after a match.
Andrea Serrani, 46, was also ordered to pay 10,000 euros to Greta Beccaglia after being convicted of sexually assaulting her in November last year, according to Italy’s National Press Federation (FNSI).
The FNSI, which was a civil party in the suit and was also awarded damages, said it would “always denounce any attempt at intimidation, threats or aggression” against journalists.
Beccaglia was reporting for local Toscana TV outside Empoli’s Carlo Castellani stadium following their Serie A match with Tuscan rivals Fiorentina when one of the fans streaming past slapped her bottom.
The footage went viral and caused outrage in Italy, with the country’s top football division among those condemning the assault.
