Football
The best player of Spartak faces years in prison. And what should the club do?
Promes benefits the Red-Whites on the field, but certainly does not improve their reputation.
Quincy Promes had the most productive season of his career: in 27 WORLD RPL matches, he scored 20 goals and 7 assists. In the Cup of Russia, he scored another 5 + 3 in nine meetings. In a recent derby with CSKA, he not only scored a winning double, but also came out on top in the list of Spartak’s top scorers in the Russian championship (88 goals). Prior to that, he broke the record of Wagner Love and Serdar Azmun for foreign goalscorers in the entire history of the RPL.
If there are no questions for the 31-year-old winger from a game point of view, then his actions off the field have become the reason for two criminal investigations at once. In a few weeks, a court in the Netherlands is due to rule on Quincy’s attack on his cousin, which happened about three years ago.
In addition to stabbing with a relative, Promes is suspected of involvement in drug smuggling.
Phone tapping
For the first time in the criminal chronicles, Promes appeared in November 2020, shortly before his return to Spartak. The prosecutor’s office of the Netherlands has formally charged the footballer with grievous bodily harm and attempted murder. According to the prosecutor’s office, in July 2020, Promes (he was then playing for Ajax) attacked his cousin with a knife after a party. The reason was some domestic dispute.
Quincy was then arrested, interrogated and released. At the same time, the prosecutor’s office at that time did not restrict the player’s movements, which made it possible to transfer to Spartak in the winter of 2021. A few months later, the court seized Promes’ villa in Utrecht to guarantee compensation to the victim if guilt was proven.
The case was investigated for 2.5 years. As a result, the prosecutor’s office requested two years in prison for Promes as a punishment. The verdict is to be announced on June 19. A year ago, a civil court ordered Promes to pay 1 million euros to an injured relative, but now the criminal court has its say.
In addition to the statement of the cousin Promes himself, transcripts of the wiretapping of the football player’s phone appear in the case. Quincy was monitored by the Criminal Intelligence (TCI), which does not deal with domestic crime. Promes attracted the attention of such a serious structure for a completely different reason.
Over a ton of cocaine
Professor of criminal procedure law Sven Brinkloff noted in the spring of 2022 that criminal intelligence is mainly engaged in serious crimes – murders, drug trafficking, weapons: “The stabbing case does not fit into the routine of what TCI does. That is, Promes to some extent refers to the investigation of organized crime. How exactly, and what kind of role he has, we don’t know yet.”
Everything fell into place when De Telegraaf first spoke about Promes’s possible connection to a drug-trafficking group. According to the source of the publication, Promes and several members of his family invested in cocaine shipments weighing 650 and 720 kg. The cargo worth about 120 million euros was intercepted in Antwerp. The investigation had to find out the role of Promes in this case. The recently published transcript of the player’s telephone conversations promises Quincy big problems.
The phrases “My guys are on their way to Antwerp” and “The previous delivery failed halfway, one of the parties was calculated, so I earned half as much” leave little chance for a positive outcome for the Spartak player. The investigation believes that Promes invested 200 thousand euros in a dubious undertaking, hoping to earn 6 million euros.
The prosecutor’s office has not yet demanded specific terms in this case, but given the seriousness of the charges, we are probably not talking about the two years that Promes faces because of a showdown with his cousin. The smuggling story is far from over. Consideration of the case will continue on August 11.
Spartak is on the side of the player
Due to serious problems with the law in his homeland, Promes was forced to miss the entire winter training with Spartak, which held training camps in the UAE. The club very carefully then commented on the absence of a leading player: “Quincy Promes asked the club to start training on an individual schedule due to personal circumstances. The club complied with the request.
According to unofficial data, Promes did not fly to the training camp due to fear of extradition to the Netherlands. The Dutchman conducted all the preparation according to an individual program, which did not prevent him from showing peppy football in the spring. In Russia, Quincy feels as comfortable as possible.
If Promes is still found guilty in his homeland, Spartak will have to make a difficult ethical choice. A criminal in the team is a serious blow to the reputation of the club, but on the other hand, it is not so easy to refuse the best legionnaire. Under the law, nothing prevents Promes from continuing to play for the team, because the Russian authorities have no questions for him, and there is no extradition agreement between Russia and the Netherlands.
Recently, another Russian club found itself in a similar situation. Midfielder “Ural” Ray Vlut in the Netherlands was found guilty of an accident that resulted in the death of a 4-year-old child, and was sentenced to 2.5 years in prison. The president of the Yekaterinburg club, Georgy Ivanov, immediately stated that the court’s decision would not affect Vlut’s performance for Ural in any way.
Judging by the fact that Spartak is working on obtaining Russian citizenship for Promes, the club is not going to disown the 31-year-old player in any outcome of criminal cases. It is possible that Quincy will forever remain in Russia. At least until the end of his playing career. This can be understood on the basis of sporting considerations, but it is much more difficult to morally justify such a position. Especially in a country with zero tolerance legislation for the spread of drugs.
Source: Sportbox
Thomas Astudillo is a sports journalist and author who writes for Sportish. He has a deep love and knowledge of sports, and is known for his engaging and informative writing on the latest sports news and events.