Lawyer Alekseev: the football player who joked about Zenit’s billions faces a fine
Krylia Sovetov goalkeeper Sergei Pesyakov, who previously represented Rostov, may be punished in the form of fines and disqualification for a joke about billions from Zenit, sports lawyer Sergei Alekseev said in a conversation with Lenta.ru.
“In accordance with current Russian legislation and sports law, match fixing and other manifestations of corruption in sports are prohibited. If the statement indicates that such circumstances occurred, these facts need to be investigated. And, if the act took place, it is possible to initiate a case and bring to justice in two directions at once,” the lawyer warned.
According to Alekseev, the ethics committee may review the case and impose sanctions on Pesyakov. This could be a fine or disqualification. It is also possible to initiate a criminal case for unlawful influence on the results of sports competitions.
“Freedom of speech exists, but within the framework of the law. If it turns out that what was said was not a joke, there may be liability. Because at the moment it is not clear what exactly Pesyakov meant and how the public will perceive it. Maybe as propaganda for match-fixing,” added Alekseev.
Earlier, Pesyakov said that he received many messages after an error in the decisive match of the Russian championship, thanks to which Zenit won the tournament. “In fact, all the comments are the same. The most common one is “for how much?” My wife and I still can’t spend the billions that Zenit transferred to us. We’re trying, but it just doesn’t work,” he joked.
Source: Lenta
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