Live on television after the Empoli-Fiorentina match in November 2021, a fan slapped journalist Greta Beccaglia on the buttocks.
An Italian court on Tuesday gave a suspended 18-month prison sentence for sexual assault to a football fan who spanked a live TV journalist after a Serie A match. firm prison in the event of recidivism of the defendant within five years.
The supporter, Andrea Serrani, a 46-year-old restaurateur, was also ordered to pay 10,000 euros to the journalist, said the National Federation of the Italian Press (FNSI). The FNSI, which was a civil party and obtained 5,000 euros in compensation, invited all its members “to always denounce any attempt at intimidation, threat or aggression”.
Greta Beccaglia was reporting for local Tuscan television outside the Carlo Castellani stadium in Empoli after their Serie A (Italian 1st division) game against their Tuscan rivals Fiorentina in November 2021, when one of the passing supporters called on her slapped on the buttocks.
The footage went viral and sparked widespread outrage in Italy, with the country’s top football division among those condemning the attack.