Shakhtar Donetsk soccer club has issued an official apology after video footage emerged of Under-19 squad players getting caught allegedly driving while intoxicated in Kyiv by police on Aug. 24, Ukraine’s Independence Day.
Yaroslav
Fursov, 18, and 17-year-olds Oleh Hladchenko and Volodymyr Hrachev have been
identified in the video, posted online by Espreso.TV on Sept. 2. Hladchenko and
Fursov played in Shakhtar’s UEFA Youth League Final match against Chelsea FC in
April, which Shakhtar lost 3-2.
The players
were driving a Porsche Panamera when they were stopped in the central
Shevchenkivsky district by the police, who noticed the car hitting a curb
despite driving slowly.
After emerging from the vehicle, the young men are filmed speaking aggressively
to the police and telling them that they are footballers. One repeatedly asks
the police to call Rinat Akhmetov, the club’s owner and Ukraine’s richest
billionaire. The blood alcohol content of the driver was found to be above
acceptable levels.
He was subsequently
detained on suspicion of driving a vehicle under the influence of alcohol.
Shakhtar said
that it expects the players to make formal apologies to their fans and the
public, according to the club’s statement
made on its official website.
“We
strongly condemn the behavior of the above-mentioned players,” it continues.
“The club considers the violation of law, order and social norms to be
inadmissible and unacceptable. Players in conflict with the law will suffer
severe financial and disciplinary punishment. If the players are again
convicted of such offenses, they will be excluded from the FC Shakhtar (soccer)
Academy.”
Police footage of Shakhtar Donetsk players (Russian and Ukrainian language)
Sandra
MacKenzie can be reached at [email protected]
