Mindless England football fan jailed for pushing a Polish man in front of a Tube train played rugby with Prince Harry

A MINDLESS England football fan jailed for 10 years for pushing a Polish man in front of a Tube train played rugby with Prince Harry, it has been revealed.

Christopher Cole, 32, pushed Polish builder David Pietraszek in front of a Central Line train at Bond Street station in revenge for ‘Russian footie hooligan attacks at Euro 2016’.

Now, it has emerged the financial analyst-turned-hooligan played in a charity rugby match with Prince Harry and other ex-cons last March.

A photograph taken at the match shows Cole posing for a group picture with Harry.

The match saw the Prince visit Millwall Rugby club to meet participants in a social inclusion programme run by the charity School of Hard Knocks.

The image, which shows Prince Harry flashing a grin as Cole grimaces in the front row, was snapped just three months before he attacked Pietraszek.

A court heard Cole believed Pietraszek was Russian when he attacked him.

Mr Pietraszek, 21, had earlier stepped in and put Cole in a headlock when the drunken yob was being abusive to other passengers on the Central Line.

The victim said he could feel electricity coursing through his body as he hit he live tracks and hear a train thundering towards him.

Mr Pietraszek's life may have been saved by his rubber soled boots - as well as the fact he managed to pull himself to safety 30 seconds before the train pulled into the station.

He was rushed to hospital by London Ambulance Service for treatment after climbing to safety.

Cole, of Queensdale Crescent, London, pleaded guilty to a charge of attempted grievous bodily harm at the Old Bailey.

Prosecutor Deanna Heer told the court: "He thought Mr Pietraszek was Russian and was upset over the behaviour of Russian fans at Euro 2016 in France and that was playing on his mind.

"He said English people have a reputation for being wussies and everyone else who comes here thinks they can do what they want.

"He said he didn't like the idea of Mr Pietraszek laughing with his friends about what he had done to an Englishman.

"He also mentioned someone wearing a poppy being stabbed in Leytonstone, the Lee Rigby killing and Britain leaving the EU."

Sentencing him Judge Richard Hone QC said: "Your interview does you absolutely no credit at all and you appear to be admitting you were acting in revenge or retaliation for some absurd idea you were in some way upholding the reputation of this country, which is completely absurd.

"What you did to the victim has had an ongoing and lasting effect because he is still unable to return to full time work. He has suffered both financial and psychological harm.

"Although the injuries are a fractured finger and very serious bruises, the shock of being cast onto a live electrical line and feeling the electricity run through his body and not knowing whether it was going to kill him or not does place this at the top of the scale."

Peter Spary, mitigating on behalf of Cole, insisted his client's behaviour was not racially motivated.

He said: "It was motivated because, in effect, his manhood was dented."

Senior investigating officer Detective Chief Inspector Paul Langley said: “There is absolutely no reason why Cole unleashed such an attack against his victim, which could have easily killed him.

“Despite Cole running away from the scene, our team of detectives were able to track him down thanks to the extensive CCTV on the underground network. During interview, Cole admitted that he pushed the victim because he was 'annoyed with him'.

"This is utterly unacceptable and, as in this case, we will work tirelessly to ensure the toughest sentences are handed to offenders.

“As you would imagine, this has been an horrific experience for the victim. His life was in immediate danger when Cole pushed him onto the tracks and he was extremely lucky to have escaped without any permanent physical injury."

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