Man jailed for killing Liverpool fan on way home from watching Champion's League final

‘You are a lout who just looks for trouble,’ judge tells James Gelling

Gelling, who has convictions for violence going back to age 11, was seen “laughing” at a nearby bar after the incident (Merseyside Police/PA)

A “lout” who killed a Liverpool fan in front of his two sons after punching him in the back of the head has been jailed for six years.

James Gelling admitted to the manslaughter of 51-year-old Bulgarian national Ventsislav Marginov in Southport on 1 June.

Handing down his sentence at Liverpool Crown Court, Judge Andrew Menary QC said: “You are a lout who just looks for trouble and it is people like you that make towns like Southport the hostile environments on Friday and Saturday nights they so often are.”

Both the 32-year-old and his victim had been separately watching Liverpool play Tottenham in the Champions League final when their paths crossed.

The court heard Gelling, who had taken cocaine, walked up to Mr Marginov. At the time the victim was peacefully walking with a group of people including his two sons.

An associate of Gelling’s then decided to attack the group, punching one of the victim’s sons. Witnesses then saw Gelling punch Mr Marginov in the back of the head, a heavy blow which saw him fall to the floor and fracture his skull.

James Hinton, who witnessed the attack, said in a statement: “The older guy didn’t even know it was coming at all and had no way to defend himself.”

The judge added: “For no good reason at all, maybe because one of the deceased’s group looked at one of you the wrong way, maybe because someone heard their foreign accents, maybe for no reason at all, one of your friends began to attack one of the other group.”

The court heard Gelling, who has convictions for violence going back to age 11, was seen “laughing” at a nearby bar shortly after the incident.

In a later police interview he told officers “I’m not arsed if he dies or lives, he’s permanently injured, cabbaged, I don’t give a f***.”

Mr Marginov, a chemicals specialist, moved to England in 2015, and was described by his wife Branimara as “a calm man” who loved reading books.

His son Hristo said his death had “destroyed us”.

Judge Menary added: “He was plainly intelligent, well read, highly qualified and came to this country with his wife and children in an effort to make a new life for themselves.”

Additional reporting by PA