Another Liverpool fan, Graham Sankey, will certainly attract the attention over Michael Shields case amidst speculations that namely his confession, which was rejected by the Bulgarian court and which he later retracted, has tipped the scales in favour of Shields.

During the trial in Bulgaria Shields insisted he was asleep in bed when a concrete slab was dropped on Martin Georgiev's head in a Bulgarian pub.

Graham Sankey, then 20, later confessed to the crime but refused to come back to Bulgaria and give evidence in person. The Bulgarian authorities then refused to consider the evidence.

Sankey subsequently retracted his confession and his solicitor said his client was involved in a different fight.

It is that confession which appears to have persuaded Jack Straw to grant the pardon, although, in an extraordinarily detailed statement released by the Ministry of Justice today he does not mention Sankey by name.

Following is Sankey's statement from July 2005, as published in Click Liverpool:

"I remember seeing a disturbance and a fight was taking place involving a large number of people.

"I could see bottles being thrown and as I drew closer a bottle smashed on the wall behind my head.

"As I turned to see where the bottle had come from I saw three men running towards me with bottles and bricks in their hands.

"I panicked and stupidly picked up a brick and threw it in the direction of the men running towards me. I saw the brick hit one of them.

"The following day I was questioned by an investigator. I was absolutely terrified and I denied any involvement in the incident.

"My conscience has been tormenting me ever since I read in the papers about Michael's trial, and I felt I could not let an innocent man take the blame for what I have done.

"I expected the Bulgarian court to accept my admission and free Mr Shields. I was horrified that the court has refused to do this.

"So I am making this signed confession in the hope that an innocent man will no longer have to take responsibility for what I admit are my actions.

"I want to say that I bitterly regret what I did to Mr Georgiev. I wholeheartedly apologise to him, his family and the Bulgarian authorities.

"I am only 20-years-old and am appalled that I have ruined Mr Georgiev's life and that Michael Shields, an innocent man, has received blame for what I did.

"I just wish I had my time over again."

Sankey was later convicted of a drunken racial abuse of a black doorman at a Liverpool night club in August 2007 and was jailed for five months.

At his trial the court heard that he had a string of public order convictions including possessing an offensive weapon and being drunk and disorderly.

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