Celta Vigo's Smolov defies lockdown to return home for fiancee's 18th birthday

Fedor Smolov has become the second Celta Vigo player to defy instructions not to leave the country during the coronavirus pandemic after the Russian forward returned to his homeland on a private jet so that he could be with his fiancee – the granddaughter of the former Russian president Boris Yeltsin – on her 18th birthday.

After the forward Pione Sisto was criticised for driving to his home in Denmark last week despite strict government restrictions on travel, now his 30-year-old teammate Smolov is reportedly facing a fine when he returns from seeing Maria Yumasheva.

“The player repeatedly requested permission to travel to Russia for a personal matter,” said a club source quoted by AS. “The club could not give it to him because La Liga did not authorise it, but he promptly reported his movements and left with the commitment to return once he solved his personal affairs.”

Last week Smolov, who got engaged to Yumasheva in January, said he would not be allowed to return to Russia during the coronavirus outbreak. “I get along well, nothing new can happen,” he said. “I don’t think about anything and I accept the situation.”

Spain is about to enter its fourth week of lockdown which has been extended until 26 April in a bid to restrict the spread of the virus, which has killed over 12,000 people in the country.