On Wednesday, it was said that Kokorin and Mamaev were preparing an official statement regarding the incidents in Moscow, but it never saw the light. Instead, the players arrived for questioning at the Main Investigation Department of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the city of Moscow, and were later imprisoned in a temporary detention facility for 48 hours.
In recent days, Kokorin’s words, spoken to Vladimir Kuznetsov, a famous telephone pranker, who spoke to him on behalf of Russian Deputy Prime Minister Vitaly Mutko, were the only phrase of the accused. Answering the call, the Zenith forward limited himself to a short sentence, which he said in a very depressed voice: “I have nothing to do, I sit exactly.”
On October 11, the Interior Ministry Commander-in-Chief presented a video of the interrogation of athletes, where you can see for the first time the Zenit and Krasnodar football players after incidents of an attack on the head of the Minpromtorg Department Denis Pak and driver of the First Channel, Olga Ushakova Viktor Solovchuk. The record shows how Mamaev and Kokorin answer the questions of the investigation in turn. At the same time, the behavior of the athletes is noticeably different: Pavel looks clearly upset, while Alexander manages to remain calm and positive, and sometimes there is even a smile on his face.
Mamaev explained why he was detained by law enforcement agencies, but he refused to answer the question whether he admits his involvement in the incidents in Moscow.
“Is this an interview or what? What is it? I refuse to answer the question, ”said the footballer of Krasnodar.
Unlike his friend, Kokorin didn’t mention Art. 213 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“Hooliganism”), and Art. 111 ("Intentional infliction of grievous bodily harm").
“Detained by ... How to explain - I don't know. In a nutshell - on suspicion of causing serious ... two citizens. I understand that, ”said Kokorin.
At the same time, there was no noticeable repentance in the behavior and words of the Zenit attacker. However, a post with apologies on behalf of Kokorin, written by his stepfather Cyril Loginov, appeared on the official page of the football player on the Instagram social network.
“On my own behalf and on behalf of my son I want to apologize for what happened to Denis Pak, dear fans, colleagues, partners and everyone who is not indifferent to the situation. Alexander sincerely regrets that he hit Mr. Pak. And I wanted today, after the interrogation, to publicly apologize to him and to everyone he had been let down by such behavior, but he did not have time to do this. He was not given such an opportunity. Therefore, I do it for him, ”the message says.
- Video interrogation Mamaev and Kokorin
It is noteworthy that in this statement there is not a word about another incident involving Kokorin and Mamayev, during which they beat the driver of the First Channel, Olga Ushakova, with the whole company.
“As a father, I ask you not to forget that he is not only a famous footballer, but above all - an ordinary person. And people tend to make mistakes. He did not hide anywhere, cooperates with the investigation and understands his responsibility for what happened. I hope that the law enforcement agencies will understand everything that has happened and will give it the correct objective assessment, ”concluded Loginov.
The president of the law office A-PRO, Oleg Popov, also stood up for Kokorin’s defense. He agreed to protect the interests of the striker "Zenith".
“Kokorin’s actions against Pak were provoked by the victim himself. There, in the cafe, the conflict was completely settled, and its participants apologized to each other, ”the lawyer said in an official statement.
At the same time, he also said that the incident with Pak was the only one in which his client took part.
“Indeed, on October 8, 2018, Kokorin, on the one hand, and Denis Pak, on the other hand, had a conflict, during which the official repeatedly verbally insulted Alexander in an obscene form, after which the football player struck him one blow. In other incidents that occurred on the same day, the player of “Zenith” did not participate, “- said Popov.
At the same time, the lawyer noted that Kokorin’s actions do not fall under the article “Hooliganism”, but should be qualified exclusively as “Beating”.
“Considering the above, we urge to wait for the results of the official investigation and exclude conjectures that impede an objective and fair assessment of the situation,” concluded Popov.