Footballer Quincy Promes convicted of stabbing relative; Gets 1.5 years in prison

The court sentenced footballer Quincy Promes to 18 months in prison on Monday for stabbing his cousin at a party in July 2020. The court convicted Promes of aggravated assault but said there was insufficient evidence to prove that he tried to kill the victim. So he was acquitted of attempted murder or manslaughter, according to Telegraaf reporter Saskia Belleman tweeting live from the courtroom.

Prosecutors had called for a conviction with a two-year prison term, accusing him of taking the law into his own hands. “He should have taken responsibility because, as a professional football player, he is an example,” the prosecutor said during the trial.

Promes always denied the attack, and another relative came forward as the perpetrator. But the court did not take that confession seriously. According to the court, witness statements and tapped phone calls and texts between Promes and other family members are enough to prove that the footballer stabbed his cousin at the party in Abcoude on 25 July 2020.

However, no one saw Promes aim for the victim’s vital organs during the attack. And the court considered text messages in which he said he wanted to stab his cousin in the neck as emotional boasts. So the court acquitted Promes of attempted murder or manslaughter.

In addition to prison, Promes also has to pay his cousin 7,000 euros in damages. Promes stabbed him in the leg, breaking a tendon. The victim still can’t use his leg normally, the court said.

According to the court, Promes’ exemplary role as a professional footballer and the fact that he attacked his cousin at a family party played a big role in his sentence. The court also blamed him for not attending his trial and not expressing regret in any way. Instead, he showed pride in “restoring the family honor” with the attack, the court said. If he took responsibility for his actions, Promes’ sentence could have been six months lower, the court said.

Promes is currently in Russia playing for Spartak Moscow. He is also wanted in the Netherlands for cocaine trafficking. That case is being tried separately.