Russian, Ukrainian Footballers in Brawl at Turkish Hotel

Footballers from Russia and Ukraine were involved in a fight in the corridors of a Turkish hotel on Monday which left players with broken bones, according to reports.

Players from Russian side Shinnik Yaroslavl and Ukrainian outfit FC Minaj were sharing the hotel following the devastating earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria last week which killed 35,000 people.

According to the Ukrainian Twitter account Zorya Londonsk, the brawl was sparked when a Minaj player made a remark to a Russian player after he behaved inappropriately towards a member of hotel staff.

The Russian footballer was reportedly ‘drunk and openly rude’, and refused to apologise for his actions which led to him being punched by his Ukrainian counterpart.

Team-mates of the two players then became involved, and Russian media have claimed that as many as four Shinnik Yaroslavl players were left with potentially fractured bones.

Police were called to defuse the situation, while ambulances were also summoned to care to those injured.

FC Minaj responded to the fight by issuing an official statement on Tuesday. They confirmed that a brawl did occur, and made it clear that they felt the Russian players were to blame. 

The statement read: ‘Yesterday, February 13th, a fight took place in the Turkish Royal Sigunas hotel involving FC ‘Minaj’ and representatives of country 404 – Shinnik Yaroslavl.

‘The cause of the fight was the disgraceful behaviour of the football players of the Russian team towards the hotel employees and provocative shouts towards the players of Minaj.

‘The information from Russian propaganda media about the fact that the players of Minaj forced the Shinnik players to sing the Ukraine national anthem & beat the players in the lift is a traditional delusion. The fight did take place, but already on the floor where the Russians lived and in equal numbers.

‘After the end of the skirmish, when the people of Minaj were in their rooms, the Russians continued fighting among themselves. Those who tried to stop the clash were accused of supporting Ukraine. Local police had to intervene and calm down the Russians.’

The Ukrainian players quickly put the incident behind them as they went on to train on Tuesday morning.

Tensions remain high between the two nations following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine last February.