A Brighton supporter has told how he was knifed three times in the bottom after his group of friends were ‘jumped from behind’ in a violent mugging in Rome.
Jack Stephenson, 28, was on a trip with his pals to Italy to support Brighton and Hove Albion against AS Roma in last night’s Europa League clash.
On Wednesday, Jack and five others headed out into the Italian capital to soak up the ancient city’s culture.
However, they were ‘jumped from behind’ by a mob of seven men wearing balaclavas and armed with knives as they walked down a street in the historic Monti district – just a few minutes away from the Colosseum.
Italian police confirmed yesterday that the two British tourists had been stabbed and robbed, saying they sustained ‘minor knife wounds,’ and were taken to hospital. Both are now thought to have been discharged.
Jack Stephenson (centre wearing a yellow coat), was mobbed by Albion supporters who chanted his name and joked ‘there’s f**k all wrong with him’ as he hobbled to the match
The 28-year-old was caught on camera using a crutch to make it to the game – the club’s first ever knock-out match in Europe
Fellow Albion fans cheered Jack on in the stands as he looked around smiling brightly
Jack was on a trip with his friends to Rome to support Brighton and Hove Albion against AS Roma in last night’s Europa League clash
Now Jack has told MailOnline how he defied medical advice and went straight to the football game after a 13-hour stay in hospital and 10 stitches.
He said they ‘got jumped from behind and kicked against a wall’ and that it ‘happened so quickly’ that he ‘didn’t even see the attackers before I got up’.
The thugs kicked Jack in the head and stabbed him in the bottom three times. He doesn’t recall seeing the knife but said it was a ‘petty decent sized blade judging by the size of the hole in my trousers’.
Another one of his friends was stabbed, who has since been released from hospital, while three others were kicked and punched.
Despite the nurse telling him he should rest instead of going to the game, the die-hard fan packed up his belongings and hobbled along with his crutch to the Stadio Olimpico.
As he made his way to Roma’s stadium for Brighton’s first ever knock-out match in Europe, Jack was mobbed by Albion supporters who chanted his name and joked ‘there’s f**k all wrong with him’.
Because of the nature of his wounds, Jack had to stand for the entire 90 minutes of the game and could barely sit down today as he made his way back to England.
Before yesterday’s game, Jack’s friend Joey Thorpe described how they had been mugged during the horror attack, while Jack and another friend were knifed.
Speaking to MailOnline, Joey said: ‘I got jumped first, there were these kids following us and I got jumped first… They were pumping me in the head, kicking me in the ribs and just hammering me.’
Jack (in yellow) was among a group of fans who were attacked by a mob of six or seven assailants last night after they left a bar in the historic Monti district of the Italian capital
Joey Thorpe, 27, had been at a bar in the Italian capital with five friends when he said he was jumped from behind and beaten up by the masked assailants
Brighton fans have been arriving in the Italian capital over the past few days to cheer on their side. Pictured: An Albion supporter outside the Colosseum, shared on the club’s X account
The 27-year-old said his terrified friends fled as he was being attacked, but that the gang of youths chased after them and also attacked two others, mugging them at knifepoint.
After the horrific ordeal, Joey said Rome is the worst place he has been to for a match and urged fellow fans to ‘stay safe’.
Police were called to the historic area of Rome last night after a restaurant waiter raised the alarm, and found two men with stab wounds.
The pair were robbed of a belt bag containing their identity documents and wallets, and were rushed to hospital to be treated for their injuries, said to be ‘minor stab wounds’.
But, he said referring to the muggers: ‘They’ve obviously heard that we’re English, and just put two and two together and just gone for it… it can be quite dangerous.’
He said that the police were called and his friends were rushed to hospital with stab injuries, while he only suffered internal bruising and other minor injuries.
‘The police didn’t wanna know and never saw basically blaming us, which is obvious, because that was always gonna happen,’ he said. ‘Because we’re in a foreign country. they’re just going to blame us.’
‘We weren’t chanting or anything, we’d just come out of the pub. We’d had a few drinks, but we were just being as normal as possible,’ he said.
File image shows Italian police at the Stadio Olimpico, where tonight’s last 16 match is being held
Brighton and Hove Albion are set to play Roma on Thursday evening at Rome’s Olympic Stadium (file image)
The Albion fan added he has previously been to a match in Marseille, and while he said the French city ‘was quite sketchy, and you had a little bit of trouble,’ it was ‘nothing like what’s happening’ in Rome.
‘Nothing like that has ever happened to me, I’d never been anywhere near anything like that at any other football game or anything.’
‘It’s just a game of football, it’s crazy… We’re a very well-behaved group, so for it to happen to us is quite a shock.’
He said he and his friends can’t go home until Friday, but said he hopes that they will stay safe in the meantime if they ‘all stick together’.
A FCDO spokesperson said: ‘We are providing assistance to two British people who were attacked in Rome and are in contact with the local authorities.’
