If this is how they treat the players at Russian league matches, then one should hate to see how they treat boisterous fans.
According to the Guardian, Zenit St. Petersburg striker Danko Lazovic was tasered by police after giving his soccer kit (jersey) to one of his team's fans during a road match on Sunday at Volga Nizhny Novgorod. The paper reports:
Zenit, the defending champions, said Lazovic was given an electric shock that left a burn mark under his right shoulder blade. Police deny the accusation.
"I simply went to give my shirt to the fans after the game when a policeman appeared behind me and hit me in the back with an electric shock," Lazovic was quoted by Sport Express newspaper as saying. "I don't know why this happened. Maybe he thought I was one of the fans."
The Bleacher Report also ran an item stating that Lazovic posted a response to the incident on his club's website. TBR reports:
"I just went to give my jersey to the fans after the match when a police officer appeared behind me and tasered me in the back with his electric shocker, I don't know why that happened. Maybe he thought that I was one of the fans." Lazovic said.
"Sometimes people do really awful things."
"It was a strange feeling. It's just amazing that kind of thing can happen at sporting events, but here, in Russia, apparently everything is possible."
Russia is gearing up to host the 2018 FIFA World Cup amid growing security concerns at soccer matches.
Zenit St. Petersburg won the match, 2-0.