Fan Detained by Police for Throwing Banana at Volga-Zenith Match

Moscow, March 10 – Ulyanovsk police have arrested a fan who threw a banana during a soccer match between local Volga and St. Petersburg Zenit, according to the official Telegram channel of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Ulyanovsk Region.

The meeting of 1/4 of the finals of the zonal track of the Russian Cup between Volga and Zenit took place on February 25 in Ulyanovsk and ended with a score of 3: 0 in favor of the guests. During the match, a banana appeared on the field next to Zenit’s Brazilian midfielder Wendl. The FTC RFU fined Ulyanovsk “Volga” 500 thousand rubles and was punished with holding one match for the Russian Cup in empty stands, contingent on this incident.

“As a result of the measures taken, the policemen identified the violator and detained him. It turned out that he is a resident of the regional center, born in 2004. Currently, the police have drawn up an administrative protocol against the young man under Article 20.31 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation,” the statement said. The behavior of spectators during official sports competitions”, which will be sent to the court to consider the merits.”

The detainee said he made a mistake and regretted what happened. He said: “In the herd mentality, I saw Zenit fans throwing snowballs on the field. Emotionally, I also threw a foreign object, which turned out to be a banana.”