The former youth football coach for Esch Jeunesse was originally sentenced to 18 years in prison with 12 suspended, and will now serve eight years, with four suspended, following his appeal.
The defendant faced manslaughter charges after a fatal stabbing in January 2023. On the night of the incident, a 25-year-old man armed with two knives arrived at the football club's training ground, where the youth team were undergoing a training session.
The man threatened the coach several times, before the coach, his brother, andone of the players' father succeeded in immobilising the attacker.
However, the situation escalated when the coach stabbed the man in the upper thigh with one of the knives. The man died of his injuries in hospital some hours later.
During the first trial, the court argued that the violence was no longer justified by self-defence, as the victim had been immobilised at the time of the stabbing.
However, the appeal process saw the original sentence significantly reduced. The Luxemburger Wort wrote that the appeals court came to the conclusion that it was not a case of manslaughter with intent to kill, but instead a case of bodily harm which later proved fatal, thus reducing the punishment.
