THE Bulgarian justice system which saw Michael Shields jailed for 10 years was heavily criticised in a Liverpool court.
Solicitors defending two men allegedly involved in the attack on a barman, for which the Wavertree teenager was convicted, said the trial was deeply flawed.
The evidence emerged as police tried to impose football banning orders on Anthony Wilson and Bradley Thompson, both 19, for their part in the assault in Golden Sands last May.
A third man, Graham Sankey, 20, issued and then retracted a confession to the paving-stone attack which left barman Martin Georgiev brain-damaged and saw Michael Shields jailed.
But yesterday Fran Hertzog, defending Thompson and Wilson, revealed a damning account of police brutality and bias during the Bulgarian investigation.
She told how the pair, who are contesting the order, were;
* Slapped in the face, pushed to the ground and tripped up by detectives who became angry because they could not answer questions asked in Bulgarian.
* Eventually provided with an interpreter who "acted as an accuser" instead of doing her job impartially.
* Chained to a radiator with Michael Shields and subjected to ashambolic identity parade.
* Only granted legal representation half-way through their first court appearance.
* Warned by a judge during a supposedly neutral pre-trial hearing that "he already had enough evidence" to find one of them guilty of hooliganism and jail him for 15 years.
