On Tuesday, the Luxembourg City Court opened the trial for a knife attack that occurred in January 2023 on a football field in Esch-sur-Alzette, resulting in the death of a man.
The case centres on the events of 20 January 2023, when a fatal altercation took place during a training session of the Jeunesse Esch football club. The victim, who was seriously injured during the incident, later died in the hospital.
The main defendant is a youth coach accused of manslaughter, among other charges. A second defendant, the father of one of the players, is also standing trial.
The proceedings aim to clarify the sequence of events and determine the extent of each defendant’s responsibility. According to the police investigation, the victim was allegedly attacked with his own knife after being immobilised.
The altercation occurred shortly after 5pm on 20 January 2023, during a training session of the Jeunesse Esch U13 team.
A man, described as an outsider, entered the pitch and attempted to play football as the training session was still going on, leading to a confrontation. According to statements made by the youth coach during the investigation, the man appeared to behave oddly and smelled slightly of alcohol.
After being pushed off the pitch, the man left but returned approximately 30 minutes later, this time armed with two knives. Investigations revealed that the knives were part of a set purchased by the man that same evening. A subsequent search of his residence uncovered Xanax and other pharmaceuticals used to treat sleep disorders. The victim, who held a residence permit, was living at a Caritas shelter in Esch-sur-Alzette at the time of the incident.
The victim, who arrived in Luxembourg as a refugee in 2021, lived in four different homes across the country during his time in the Grand Duchy. However, his stay was marked by repeated disciplinary issues, including multiple accusations of sexual harassment. In one notable incident in 2022, he allegedly threatened a woman on a bus with a cleaver. He was also involved in several altercations on public transport involving minors.
According to testimony presented in court, the situation escalated after the initial argument on the football pitch. Several individuals managed to disarm the 25-year-old man, but as he attempted to flee, the main defendant, the youth coach, tackled him and pinned him to the ground.
The victim was then struck in the head with a rock at least three times. Witnesses and the coroner’s report confirmed that the youth coach stabbed the victim three times in the buttocks and right thigh. The stab wound to the thigh severed the femoral artery, causing significant blood loss.
Despite 15 minutes of resuscitation efforts on-site, the victim succumbed to his injuries several hours later at Esch Hospital due to organ failure.
During the altercation, the youth coach allegedly shouted that he was not afraid of the man and threatened to kill him for attacking his children with knives. However, the main defendant has denied these allegations. Also present during the incident was the youth coach’s 16-year-old half-brother.
The main defendant has a prior history with law enforcement. In 2022, Belgian police were called to the home of his girlfriend after he reportedly threatened her with a knife and a rod.
In addition to the youth coach, a father of one of the players is also standing trial. He is accused of causing bodily harm after allegedly throwing a brick at the victim’s chest during the altercation. However, according to the criminal police investigation, the same defendant also repeatedly attempted to calm the youth coach, who was described as being consumed by rage at the time of the attack.
The court’s primary task is to reconstruct the exact sequence of events and determine the criminal responsibility of both defendants. The youth coach faces charges of causing bodily harm that led to death, or alternatively, manslaughter. The father, meanwhile, is charged with intentionally causing bodily harm.
The trial is scheduled to last three days and will conclude on Thursday.
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