Scandal in Moscow: Well-known footballers beat top official, Belarus-born driver
Alexander Kokorin, a forward for FC Zenit, and Pavel Mamayev, a midfielder for FC Krasnodar, have recently sparked a high-profile scandal in Moscow. They are charged with ‘battery’ for heavily beating a Russian top official and a Belarusian-born driver.
The players who allegedly were in a state of alcoholic or narcotic intoxication misbehaved in a cafe in the north-west of Moscow. The staff tried to calm them down, but in vain. Denis Pak, a regular visitor and trade ministry executive, made a remark to Kokorin and Mamayev. In response, the duo brutally beat the man – they even threw chairs at him.
According to Mash Telegram channel, the footballers called the official ‘Chinese’ and told him to go home and make orders there. A criminal case under Art. 116 of the Russian Criminal Code (battery) has been initiated against the attackers who may face up to 2 years of imprisonment.
The conflict was preceded by another scandalous episode, Mash says. Presumably, 33-year-old Viktar Salaviou was also the victim of the Russian athletes’ aggressive actions. At the same time, according to TV station Rossiya 1, the injured person had a different name (Vitaly Salauchuk).
“At 7 am Kokorin and his company left a strip club and started to kick and push the cars standing in a nearby parking lot. When a bystander dropped a remark, they knocked him down, kicked and punched in the head. The man, who got a concussion and head injury, is currently in intensive care,” Mash reports.
Salaviou works as a driver of Channel 1 presenter Olga Ushakova. When attacked by Kokorin’s company, he was waiting for his boss. Another criminal case has been opened over the incident.
