Beating of dark-skinned fans is hooliganism – court’s ruling

Chelsea London football match on October 20, 2015, was sentenced to two years of suspended custodial restraint.

The Pechersky District Court in Kyiv approved with its ruling the agreement on the admission of guilt between the prosecutor’s office in Kyiv and the defendant, according to which the 22-year-old man pleads guilty to a criminal offense.

The football fan was charged with violating Part 2 of Article 296 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (hooliganism).

As the press service of the prosecutor’s office in Kyiv reports, the pre-trial investigation regarding other persons involved in the fight continues. The prosecutor’s office qualifies this fight as hooliganism.

As reported, a clash among the football fans occurred at the Olympiysky national sports complex in Kyiv on October 20, 2015. The published video of the incident caused considerable public outcry followed by severe sanctions for the Kyiv football club.

The Dynamo Kyiv fan community rejects accusations of racism and claims it was a common fight over the indecent behavior of some fans.

As a reminder, 17 people experienced racist attacks in Ukraine in 2015. The human rights activists point out that the racially motivated violence is ineffective investigated in the country.