A football fan stabbed a fellow supporter in a hotel toilet after a row about blocking the TV while England were playing.
Plumb Hysa, 30, was watching the Euro 2020 quarter final against Ukraine when he was told to get out of the way by a fan, 59, who was on a stag-do at the time.
Hysa agreed and everything seemed friendly, with the pair even taking selfies together as they cheered England’s four goals.
But, while in the toilet of the Mill Hotel in Chester, the ‘atmosphere changed’ and Hysa brutally stabbed the man three times.
Hysa, of Bootle, Merseyside, pleaded guilty to wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and possession of an offensive weapon.
He was jailed for nine years at Chester Crown Court on Thursday.
The court heard how the Albanian national had picked up a steak knife and stored it in the waistband of his trousers after being told to stop blocking the TV.
A witness was in one of the cubicles at the same time and heard the two men go to the urinals.
He told the court that he heard the victim say: ‘Put that knife down’ before calling out: ‘He has stabbed me.’
The man required urgent surgery after one of the wounds pierced his small bowel and caused internal bleeding, while one wound narrowly missed his heart.
The court heard how the man still requires hospital treatment two months on, has had difficulty sleeping, and was forced to miss two weeks of work.
As he was arrested Hysa was punched in the face by one of the victim’s friends and he can be seen sporting two black eyes in his police mugshot.
He gave a ‘no comment’ in interview, but provided a prepared statement in which he claimed he had acted in self defence.
Sentencing, Judge Patrick Thompson told Hysa: ‘You commenced a ferocious attack with that knife, during which you stabbed the victim three times, causing him serious injuries.
‘It’s a matter of luck, really, that he was not killed. It’s clear you had lost all sense that night. You were intent on inflicting serious harm on anyone who came your way.’
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