A group of French thugs donned masks and launched a commando-style raid on a wedding reception to take revenge on a renegade fan only to discover they had the wrong venue.
Militant fans of St Etienne destroyed food and the wedding cake when they smashed their way into the marriage party at a chateau in Denice in the east of the country last September, a court heard Wednesday.
Their anger was aimed at the groom who they believed had betrayed the club by becoming a fan of bitter local rivals Lyon.
But it was a case of mistaken identity.
They smashed up the party with iron bars in an operation described by prosecutors as having all the hallmarks of a “para-military” operation.
Ten men, aged between 26 and 48 and members of a group of hardline St Etienne supporters known as the Magic Fans, appeared in court Wednesday where they were all described as model citizens.
But given the chance to avenge a man they believed had betrayed their code of loyalty, they wanted to “destroy the most beautiful day of his life”.
Nine of the 10 accused admitted their presence at the scene but admitted their “shame and regret”, the court was told.