A Belgian pub manager was allegedly stabbed with broken glass after confronting thuggish Shamrock Rovers supporters last week.
Vittorio Bombello branded the group as “real hooligans”. Around 1,000 Rovers fans travelled to Belgium for their Europa Conference league opener against Gent on Thursday, September 15, where the Hoops were defeated 3-0.
Afterwards, some fans gathered in the Overpoort area of the Belgian city of Ghent. It was when the manager of Cafe Atlas was closing that he was confronted by a group, who were visibly drunk, and they began to pelt stones and throw bikes at the premises.
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Vittorio Bombello told news outlet Nieuwsbled: “A group of Irish people had been sitting in a cafe nearby all evening. When I was closing, that group suddenly came to my cafe. Immediately I sensed that something was not right.
“They wanted to go in, but I refused them entry. I tried to soothe them, but couldn’t calm them down.” Mr Bombello tried to reason with the group, but says he was stabbed with broken glass.
He added: “I was then taken to the hospital and had to get nine stitches.” A police spokesman said an Irishman had been arrested.
He said it was his understanding that the man had been released, but could not give out any further details on the suspect’s age or if he had been charged. Mr Bombello, who filed a complaint with cops, said: “Presumably that’s the one who attacked me. I hope those men will be punished.
“I have never experienced this. I have recently carried out renovations: a new floor and lighting. So I’m glad they didn’t get in, otherwise the damage would have been great.”
The manager opened the following day for business despite the attack. But he said: “You can still talk to drunk students if they make a fuss.
“A day later they come to apologise and then it is closed. That was not the case with these football supporters. These were not fans, but real hooligans who were only after one thing: fighting and destroying.”
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