A Dutch court sentenced former Netherlands international footballer Quincy Promes to 18 months in jail on Monday, June 19, for stabbing his cousin at a family party.
The Spartak Moscow forward, 31, who pleaded not guilty, was not in court in Amsterdam for the sentencing as he currently lives in Russia.
Also read: 1 dead, several injured in train crash near The Hague
The court found that Mr. Promes had stabbed his cousin in the leg during a family birthday party in 2020 amid a row over a stolen necklace.
Such an offence would normally incur a sentence of at least a year, but Mr. Promes got a heavier jail term because of his public profile, it said.
“The court took into account that the suspect is a professional football player and well-known Dutchman, and therefore has an exemplary function,” the court said in a statement.
Also read: Odisha CM to give ₹1 crore to Indian football team for Intercontinental Cup victory
“The court also blames the suspect for not taking any responsibility for his act.”
Prosecutors, who had demanded a two-year sentence, last year dropped a charge of attempted murder against Mr. Promes.
The investigation was triggered by a phone tap from a separate probe into a drug-smuggling case involving Mr. Promes.
Mr. Promes was charged in May with importing several hundred kilos of cocaine through the Belgian port of Antwerp in 2020.
Mr. Promes has been capped 50 times, scoring seven goals, and was part of the national team at the Euro 2020 Championships, conducted in 2021 due to COVID-19, but has not worn the orange jersey since.
He joined Amsterdam’s Ajax in 2019 from Sevilla in a €15 million ($16.4 million) transfer, before going back to Russian football club Spartak in 2021, where he was named Russia’s ‘Footballer of the Year’ in 2017 during a previous spell.
