Mathias Lessort avoids criminal charges after Crvena Zvezda's complaint. The Prosecutor's Office believes Lessort's action cannot be treated as violent behavior at a sports event.
A €10,000 fine and three-game suspension – that's all the consequences Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade center Mathias Lessort faces after shoving Filip Petrusev in a recent eternal derby.
Filip Petrusev
Team: |
Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade |
Position: | C |
Age: | 22 |
Height: | 211 cm |
Weight: | 107 kg |
Birth place: | Belgrade, Serbia |
According to Telegraf, Prosecutor's Office rejected Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade's criminal complaint due to Lessort's physical attack at the end of the game.
The complaint was dismissed, bearing in mind the long-standing practice of the Prosecutor's Office and the Court of Appeal.
"Participants in sports competitions and events cannot be perpetrators of this criminal act," Telegraf writes.
The Prosecutor's Office believes Lessort's action cannot be treated as violent behavior at a sports event.
Petrusev could defend himself only in a private lawsuit, per the report.
On Thursday, Zvezda filed a criminal complaint against Mathias Lessort "for violent behavior and beating of their first team player Filip Petrusev."
On Wednesday, Petrusev provided his statements to the authorities, as the Serbian big man was invited to a police station regarding the incident.
Lessort shoved Petrusev and went on to hit him in the face during the derby.
Zeljko Obradovic called his player's behavior unacceptable and apologized for it in the post-game press conference. While Lessort himself released an official apology for the incident with Filip Petrusev, the club has announced that the player will be disciplined according to the inner rules that were signed by all players.
Red Star called for the most serious punishment that the league rules allow.