Line drawn in Kuban “beating” scandal

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Published time: April 18, 2011 20:36
Edited time: April 18, 2011 23:42

A police investigation has found no proof to the claims of Montenegrin footballer Nikola Nikezic, who said he was beaten up in order to persuade him to terminate his contract with Russian Premier League side Kuban.

­“The Krasnodar police were unable to confirm the fact of violence,” Alu Alkhanov, the head of the Ethics Committee of the Russian Football Union, told Sportbox.ru.

But Kuban were still unable to escape punishment as Nikezic’s contract was annulled with “significant violations”.

The club will be fined for 2 million rubles ($ 600,000). Kuban’s general director Suren Mkrtchyan will also have two pay 1 million rubles, while two other officials from the Krasnodar side received year-long bans from football.    

“If Nikezic’s words that physical violence was used against him are indeed false, I would strongly recommend that Kuban sue him for defamation. What he did threw a shadow over the club and Russian football as a whole,” Alkhanov added.  

Nikola Nikezic, 29, has written to UEFA and FIFA claiming he was beaten up on March 7 by two men in an office at the club's headquarters in Krasnodar in southern Russia.