A Montenegrin footballer has claimed that his Russian football club hired goons to beat him up when he refused to leave.
Nikola Nikezic has complained to both FIFA and UEFA about the incident, which is said to have happened at club Kuban Krasnodar.
Nikezic claims he had a contract that was due to run until 2012 which the club wanted to rip up earlier this month.
“I signed a two-year deal with Kuban in March 2010 and helped the club to win promotion into the Premier League last year,” Nikezic told the Kommersant daily newspaper.
“However, this year club chiefs said they did not need my services anymore and offered to break the contract. I refused, asking the club for a transfer instead.
“After my refusal two strongmen came into the room and started to beat me badly, threatening me with maiming and demanding that I sign some papers.
“It lasted for about 20 minutes. After that I felt completely exhausted and signed the papers.”
Kuban Krasnodar, who are presided over by the Krasnodar region governor Alexander Tkachey, angrily denied the story and called it “improbable”.
“I met with Nikola and talked to him,” Kuban press spokesman Vyacheslav Ivanov said.
“Some time ago he experienced certain problems when he failed to win a place in the team line-up. He told me he was seeking a new club but issued no complaints at all.”
The Russian Football Union are investigating the case, but Nikezic said he felt he had to go to FIFA and UEFA with his grievances.
“I’ve decided to go for it, all the way. I don’t believe in an impartial investigation of the case by the Russian Football Union and decided to appeal to FIFA and UEFA,” he said.
The all-Russian football players’ trade union general manager Alexander Zotov has advised Nikezic to take legal action.
“If this story is true, the people guilty of organising and executing this act of violence should be punished as criminals. If the club management really initiated this, they don’t belong in Russian football,” Zotov said.
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World Football – Player accuses club of beating him up
