Legia Warsaw footballer convicted and fined for attacking AZ steward in Alkmaar

The Noord-Holland court convicted Legia Warsaw footballer Radovan Pankov of assault and fined him 750 euros for attacking a steward in the AZ stadium after a match between the two teams in October last year. Pankov also has to pay the steward around 1,500 euros in damages, the court ruled.

After the Conference League match between AZ and Legia Warsaw, a brawl broke out in the corridors of the AZ stadium. The police ordered the Legia Warsaw players and staff to remain indoors until supporters had left. The situation in the corridors escalated, and the Legia Warsaw players and staff rushed into the hallway from outside.

The AZ steward arrived on site and tried to intervene in the brawl. During the commotion, Pankov pushed the steward hard, causing him to hit the wall and fall to the ground, the court said. The victim suffered injuries to his elbow.

During the trial, Pankov said that he was trying to help his club’s equipment man and that he had acted in self-defense. He apologized for hurting the AZ steward and said that, in retrospect, he should have stayed on the bus.

The court ruled that the police had ordered the Legia Warsaw players and staff to stay out of the corridors where the brawl was happening. According to the judge, the AZ security staff, including the steward, was responsible for restoring order in the corridors. The steward’s actions, therefore, did not cause the situation in which Pankov said he had to defend himself.

Pankov pushed the steward hard in the narrow hallway during the commotion. He “thus accepted the chance that the victim would fall against the wall and sustain pain or injury,” the court said. “As a professional footballer, the suspect sets an example and should have kept himself under control.”

The court convicted Pankov of assault and fined him 750 euros, as the Public Prosecution Service had recommended. The court also ordered him to pay 559.14 euros in compensation for material damage and 1,000 euros for non-material damage. “This is because the impact of this event was great for the victim,” the court said.