Roberto Gay, president of IHL club Vallpellice, is fighting for his health.

In Piedmont: Brutal attack on ice hockey president

Roberto Gay, president of Hockey Club Valpellice (IHL), has been brutally attacked. The 62-year-old is now fighting for his health.

August 07, 2026

From: sn

Following the brutal attack by a friend of his son, who bit and seriously injured him in his home on Sunday morning, doctors are now focusing on his critical condition. He is scheduled to undergo complicated surgery in the coming days, with a desperate attempt to save his left eye, which was severely damaged by the injuries.

Gay suffered severe facial injuries, complicated injuries to his other eye, and structural damage to his nose and one ear. The condition of his left eyeball is particularly dramatic; it was already classified as severely injured during the initial emergency medical treatment.

An unbelievable act

The attack took place at the family's home, not far from the center of Pinerolo. The 24-year-old assailant—a friend of the son—is a university graduate with a master's degree from abroad and had no prior criminal record. He had inquired about his friend in the early morning hours. When the friend wasn't home, Gay's wife let him in and then left the apartment to run some errands.

When she returned about half an hour later, she was met with a horrific scene: she could already hear screams on the landing. Upon opening the door, she found her husband lying on the floor covered in blood, while the young man sat on top of him, attacking him with bites, punches, and blows to the face.

Did the perpetrator suffer from hallucinations?

The intervention of the Carabinieri from Pinerolo, who had been alerted by the wife along with the ambulance service, apparently prevented even more serious consequences. Five police officers struggled to subdue the young man. He eventually had to be sedated and first taken to the hospital in Pinerolo, then to the psychiatric ward of the Turin prison.

The man, who has no prior convictions and had recently sought treatment from a private psychiatrist, is accused of aggravated assault in an investigation led by prosecutor Chiara Maina. Upon his arrest, he reportedly stated that he did not know what had happened. He believed the victim was someone else and claimed to have been suffering from hallucinations.