2 Russian soccer players let out on parole in brawl case

By: The Associated Press Posted: 4:36 AM CDT Friday, Sep. 6, 2019 Last Modified: 7:06 AM CDT Friday, Sep. 6, 2019

MOSCOW - Two Russian national team soccer players were let out on parole Friday after serving part of their prison sentences for a series of brawls.

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MOSCOW - Two Russian national team soccer players were let out on parole Friday after serving part of their prison sentences for a series of brawls.

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This article was published 06/09/2019 (2536 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

MOSCOW – Two Russian national team soccer players were let out on parole Friday after serving part of their prison sentences for a series of brawls.

Zenit St. Petersburg forward Alexander Kokorin and FC Krasnodar midfielder Pavel Mamayev were arrested last October after being accused of attacking a man in a Moscow hotel parking lot, a senior trade ministry official and a car designer in a cafe.

Kokorin was sentenced to 18 months in prison in May, while Mamayev was sentenced to 17 months, though both sentences were already reduced due to time spent in pre-trial detention.

FILE - In this Wednesday, April 3, 2019 file photo, Zenit St. Petersburg striker Alexander Kokorin, second left, and Krasnodar's midfielder Pavel Mamayev arrive for a hearing in a court in Moscow, Russia. Alexander Kokorin and Pavel Mamayev were paroled four months after they were sentenced to prison for a string of drunken assaults last year and will be freed Sept. 17, 2019 if there is no appeal from prosecutors. (AP Photo/Dmitry Serebryakov, File)

A district court in the western Belgorod region ruled that “for the purpose of their correction, they do not need to serve the sentence in full.”

In a statement on the decision to release the pair, along with Kokorin’s brother Kirill, the court said they had behaved well behind bars.

“They did not commit any breaches of the detention regime and do not have disciplinary charges,” the statement said. “While serving their sentences, all three were employed in the prison colony’s sewing factory.”

Kokorin and Mamayev’s trial was a media sensation in Russia, where they had already played the role of public villains in 2016 after being filmed partying in Monaco following the Russian team’s early elimination from the European Championship.

The Russian prison service, often criticized over mistreatment of prisoners, used their detention for some rare positive publicity. That included Mamayev playing a soccer game in an exercise yard on Valentine’s Day while in pre-trial custody.

They will be released on Sept. 17 if there is no appeal from prosecutors. The court said prosecutors supported the parole.

Kokorin has played 48 times for Russia, while Mamayev made 15 international appearances from 2010-16. Kokorin is a free agent, though Zenit hasn’t ruled out re-signing, while Krasnodar has tried to cancel its contract with Mamayev.

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