“Things that won’t stop me from going to a Brighton game: three stabs in the butt.” Forty-eight hours after the violent attack he suffered near Termini station, Jack Stephenson is still joking about it. Arriving in Rome to support Roberto De Zerbi-led Brighton & Hove Albion in Italy's first away game for the English club, involved in the Europa League round of 16 against As Roma, he spent the day in the capital, drinking and tourist. On Wednesday evening, while he was near the station, he was surrounded by seven masked people who stabbed him and another England fan in the buttocks before robbing them. Stephenson, admitted to Umberto I, was not discouraged and wrote a message on the Brighton supporters' forum. “They came out suddenly and I was stabbed. But that's all part of the fun. I survived, I'm fine, I just have a sore ass. But I am determined for the match. See you tomorrow”. Then contacted by journalists, he explained his intentions: “I wanted to minimize it when I was told that I would not die. No one answered my phone and I was stuck in the corridor from the hospital for at least 6 hours. It was an attempt to reach someone at 2 a.m. I'm just trying to cheer myself up. That's definitely not part of the fun.” It is not yet clear whether the attack was carried out by ultras from the Roma galaxy or by common criminals. The away match was also unlucky for his team, who came out defeated conceding 4 goals, but Stephenson still managed to escape the Olimpico. The composure of the southern English city's supporters has not gone unnoticed in the city. “I have never seen such polite fans,” commented a police officer as he looked at the long Indian queues of fans patiently waiting for buses to the stadium.
