Eddie Irvine: F1 driver sentenced to six months in prison over Milan bar fight

Irvine is sentenced to six months behind bars in an Italian court

Former race driver Eddie Irvine has been sentenced to six months in prison by an Italian court, lawyers involved in the case have said (AFP/Getty Images )

Former Formula One Ferrari racing driver Eddie Irvine has been sentenced to six months in prison in a trial over a brawl in a Milan nightclub, lawyers involved in the case have said.

A judge at an Italian court found Irvine and Gabriele Moratti, the son of a former Milan mayor, guilty of "mutual injury" during the incident in the VIP section of the Hollywood nightclub in the northern Italian city in 2008.

Both Irvine and Moratti were sentenced to six months in prison, although it remains uncertain as to whether they will actually serve any time behind bars as the sentences can be appealed and therefore suspended. Each had accused the other of being the aggressor and using a glass in the incident.

The lawyers had disagreed on whether the fight had occurred because the former racing driver allegedly made contact with a former girlfriend of Moratti.

Vincenzo Saponara, a lawyer for Moratti told Reuters: "Obviously it's easy for newspapers to say they fought because of jealousy over a woman, that they were two men who were rivals for her. It's a nice story. But in reality that's not the case,"

Irvine, 48, from County Down, drove for Jordan, Ferrari and Jaguar before retiring from the sport in 2003. Moratti, 35, is a director at energy company Saras.

Additional reporting by Reuters