Ukrainian and Russian footballers in the same hotel in Turkey: it ends in a fight – Corriere.it

The aftermath of the war in Ukraine and the earthquake in Turkey affects sport and the corridor of a hotel in Antalya, in the south of the Anatolian peninsula. Due to the earthquake that caused almost 40 thousand victims one Russian second division team, Shinnikand another of the Ukrainian top flight, Mynai, were forced to share the same accommodation during a pre-season retreat in the country, until the almost inevitable clash between the players of the two clubs. The tense moments culminated in a brawl involving several members of the two teams. They were separated first by the staff of the hotel, then by some police officers promptly called by the staff and promptly intervened on the spot. No serious injuries, but some players still reported several fractures, some to a rib, some to the hands, some simple bruises.

In #Turkey, the football players of the Russian “Shinnik” and the Ukrainian “Minaj” were settled in the same hotel. Here is the result. pic.twitter.com/ju9erbqa9X

— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) February 14, 2023

The dynamics

To the Royal Seginus, this is the name of the hotel, Russians and Ukrainians would have found themselves in contact along a corridor, where they passed from words to insults and from insults to hands. The Ukrainians complained about the bad behavior of Shinnik colleagues towards the facility’s staff. The latter did not welcome the call and the tensions soon resulted in a real fight. As reported by theRussian news agency Ria Novostithrough the words of some hotel employees, at first the dispute had been settled, to then resume immediately after when a group of Ukrainian footballers he beat up a Russian colleague in front of an elevator that he found himself alone. Rescued by his companions, the clash continued and degenerated, until the intervention of the agents. Addressing the Russian media, Shinnik director general Sergei Kulakov vented by saying that this eventuality should not have arisen. We booked last November just to make sure there were no Ukrainian teams in the same building to avoid conflicts. Safety should come before business. Even if Turkey is popular for the withdrawals of Ukrainian and Russian teams during the seasonal break of the football championships, the incident is mainly due to an unpredictable calamity such as the earthquake that hit the country on 6 February.

The exchange of accusations

Several videos of the incident circulate on the net, with the hotel staff members trying to calm down and separate the players in the midst of the altercation, before they fall into the hands. Beyond the images, both teams accuse the players of the other side of having ignited spirits and started the brawl, while their own simply defended their teammates. The Russian consulate in Antalya also noted that the least appropriate behavior was from Ukrainian footballers. Some also claimed that they forced Russian athletes to sing the Ukrainian national anthem. Little tranquility even among the exponents of the same club, since anyone who tried to temper spirits was immediately singled out as a tearoot of the cause of his country or a coward, fueling tension, especially on the Russian side. Police recorded it as an incident in which neither side could claim any sort of reason (although the Russian Football Federation blames the hotel’s security service) and declared the conflict resolved within hours of a friendly that Mynai are still planning to play Kazakh side Maqtaaral.