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MOSCOW (AP) — Russian police are investigating two soccer players accused of beating an official at a Moscow cafe.
Officials say that Zenit St. Petersburg striker Alexander Kokorin and Krasnodar midfielder Pavel Mamayev are accused of beating a department head from the Russian Ministry for Industry and Trade who rebuked them for behaving improperly.
A video taken by a surveillance camera and broadcast by Russian TV stations on Tuesday showed the two players hitting the man with a chair over his head and slapping him in the face. A probe is under way, and the players could face up to two years in prison if found guilty.
The Russian Premier League strongly condemned the "hooliganism." Krasnodar said it may terminate Mamayev's contract, while Zenit said it would take disciplinary measures against Kokorin.
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