Spanish Court Rejects Marseille Fan Jail Appeal

Santos Mirasierra was sentenced to 3-1/2 years in prison in December after incidents during the game at the Vicente Calderon stadium.

A Spanish court has rejected an appeal lodged by an Olympique Marseille fan sentenced to jail in Spain for assaulting a police officer during a Champions League match at Atletico Madrid in October.

Santos Mirasierra was sentenced to 3-1/2 years in prison in December after incidents during the game at the Vicente Calderon stadium but returned to France following his release on bail pending the appeal.

In a statement on Thursday, the Tribunal Superior de Justicia in Madrid said it had rejected the appeal and confirmed the jail sentence.

The case provoked outrage in Marseille and the club said in a statement on its website (www.om.net) on Thursday that Mirasierra retained their full support.

Mirasierra told French website Football365 he would appeal again.

"My lawyer has 20 days to build his case. We hope that after this last appeal, we will have good news," he told Football365 (www.football365.fr).

"The the very last chance would be to ask for the Spanish government's pardon. It is another move, another case to build, a more political one."