The wife of a football fan who was left brain damaged after a brutal hooligan assault has called for her husband's attackers to face murder charges.
Nicole Dobbin, 50, wants the men responsible for stamping on Simon Dobbin's head to serve life in prison for their role in the savage attack after a football match in Southend, Essex in 2015.
Her comments come as Essex Police revealed that there was a causal relationship between the horrifying assault and Cambridge United fan Simon's death in October 2020.
Mr Dobbin, from Mildenhall, Suffolk, was beaten and 'kicked like a football' by hooligans after going to watch Cambridge draw against Southend in an unprovoked attack.
Father-of-three Mr Dobbin, who served in the RAF, suffered permanent brain damage and was left unable to walk or talk following the horrifying assault in March 2015.
He died in October last year aged 48, after his story touched the nation while appearing on BBC DIY SOS and having his house adapted by Nick Knowles and a team of 900 volunteers.
Reacting to the news, Nicole said that the 'utter thugs' should be locked away for life for their attack on her husband of 22 years.
Nicole Dobbin, 50, (right) wants the men responsible for stamping on Simon Dobbin's head to serve life in prison for their role in the savage 2015 attack after a football match in Southend, Essex
Nicole said: 'If you stamp on someone's head for 90 seconds then your intention is to kill.
'They took Simon's life - he was clinically dead for seven minutes. That's why we felt disappointed at the trial.
'If they hadn't stamped on him he wouldn't have gone into cardiac arrest and had the brain damage.'
It comes as detectives investigating his death are looking to bring fresh charges against his attackers, as a post-mortem examination showed a link between a random attack on him and his passing five years later.
Father-of-three Mr Dobbin was on his way home from watching Cambridge play Southend when rival supporters poured out of a nearby pub, The Railway Tavern, and 'jumped' a group of Cambridge fans in March 2015.
One witness, speaking after the attack, said the rival fans 'just used [Mr Dobbin] like a football', and said he was saved by a friend who laid on top of him.
Mr Dobbin suffered brain damage, damaged hips, broken ribs and a broken nose during the onslaught on and spent more than three weeks on life support.
In 2014, Adam Cross, 35, was charged with murder three years after carrying out an attack on his victim Joseph Starzacher
It would not be the first time police have sought to bring charges in a case where a person has died years after an assault.
In 2014, Adam Cross, 35, was charged with murder three years after carrying out an attack on his victim Joseph Starzacher.
Mr Cross was originally jailed for grievous bodily harm after he violently set on Mr Starzacher in a takeaway in Salisbury, Wiltshire, in 2007.
Mr Starzacher remained alive - though in a vegetative state - until succumbing to pneumonia in 2010
Mr Starzacher remained alive - though in a vegetative state - until succumbing to pneumonia, caused by his immobility, in 2010.
Medical experts concluded that the 37-year-old's death was linked to the head injury Cross caused.
In a then unprecedented move, Cross was charged with murder.
He was found guilty and handed a life sentence with a minimum term of 14 years.
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13 men were convicted for their role in the attack at Basildon Crown Court in 2017, but his wife Nicole revealed that all of the 'monsters' are already back on the streets.
He died in October last year aged 48, after his story touched the nation while appearing on BBC DIY SOS and having his house adapted by Nick Knowles and a team of 900 volunteers.
Nicole, speaking to exclusively MailOnline, added: 'I've had my soulmate taken away and they've lost nothing.
'Hopefully we will get the justice we deserve.
'I'd like to see them charged with murder and conspiracy to murder. They all knew what was going on.
'I'm hoping that the ones who stamped will get murder charges and the ones who were part of the lead up to his attack should also be done for conspiracy to murder.
'I'm terrified of going through another
