Case dropped against Zenit fan who punched player
By Dmitriy Rogovitskiy
MOSCOW (Reuters) - The criminal case against a Zenit St. Petersburg fan who ran on to the pitch and punched a Dymano Moscow player has been dropped at the request of the prosecution, lawyer Nikolay Nevestenko said on Tuesday.
Alexey Nesterov, 45, hit defender Vladimir Granat during a Russian league match between Zenit and Dynamo in May but will escape prosecution.
"The criminal case was halted due to request from the prosecution to drop the charges. Vladimir Granat wrote a letter saying that he was willing to settle the matter out of court," Nevestenko told reporters.
The incident took place on May 11 in St. Petersburg during the penultimate match for both sides in the Russian Premier League season. With Zenit trailing 4-2, hundreds of fans of the home team ran on to the pitch and Nesterov punched Granat in the head, which left the Dynamo captain with a concussion.
Nesterov turned himself in to police, who had already opened a criminal case, a few days later.
The Russian Football Union gave Zenit a 3-0 technical defeat, while the club were also told they would have to play two matches behind closed doors in the 2014/15 season.
Part of the stadium, where the club's ultras sit, will also be closed for a further three matches and the St. Petersburg side were also fined one million roubles (17,180 pounds).
(Reporting By Dmitriy Rogovitskiy; editing by Martyn Herman)
