The Premier League’s best striker, Serb Danko Lazovic, said he was tasered by a Nizhny Novgorod police officer after his Zenit St. Petersburg beat the local Volga team 2-0.
Lazovic, who assisted one goal, said he wanted to give his shirt to fans in a stand after the match, but was attacked from behind by an unidentified policeman.
“I don’t know what happened — maybe he thought I was one of the fans,” Lazovic, who scored nine goals in 14 games this season, said in a statement posted Sunday on his team’s web site, FC-zenit.ru.
The team said a medical examination had confirmed that Lazovic was tasered.
Nizhny Novgorod police also attacked Zenit supporters with batons and tasers after they protested being kept at the stadium after the game, the head of Zenit’s security, Yury Fedotov, told Interfax on Sunday.
Police denied the accusations, saying Lazovic was not tasered and 4,500 fans had rioted, destroying some 200 plastic seats at the stadium, Interfax reported.
Zenit said it would ask investigators to open an investigation.