Former Russia stars facing ‘lifetime ban’

Over assault on officials

MOSCOW, Oct 10, (AFP): Russian Premier League chiefs have requested a lifetime ban for disgraced footballers Pavel Mamaev and Alexander Kokorin following an unprovoked attack on two government officials.

Krasnodar midfielder Mamaev and Zenit Saint Petersburg forward Kokorin are facing a five-year jail term after video footage caught them attacking two Russian trade ministry officials in an upscale Moscow cafe.

The footage showed one of the officials, Denis Pak, an ethnic Korean, being hit with a chair while eating a meal.

Now the former Russian international players, who have courted controversy in the past, could be banned for life from playing in Russia.

“This case is unusual in terms of our football and the league has addressed a request to the ethics committee of the Russian Football Union to impose a lifetime ban on Mamaev and Kokorin,” In this file photo, Sevilla’s Spanish forward Nolito (front) and FK Krasnodar’s Russian midfielder Pavel Mamaev vie for the ball during the UEFA Europa League Group J football match between FC Krasnodar and Sevilla FC in Krasnodar. (AFP) “They started to mock (Pak’s) ethnicity”. The players then allegedly assaulted Pak when he made a critical comment. He added: “He has a concussion.” Before the cafe assault the footballers attacked the driver of a television host and damaged her Mercedes in a separate incident on Monday.

The driver was hospitalised with injuries and a criminal probe was opened.

On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Kremlin – “just like the whole country” – was aware of the incident and described the video as “rather unpleasant”.

Commentators, meanwhile, were keen to underline the players were not part of the Russia team that punched above its weight to reach the quarter-finals as hosts of the World Cup this summer.