MOSCOW, August 3 (RAPSI) - The Moscow City Court on Monday upheld a 1.5-year penal colony sentence passed on football player Alexander Kokorin but replaced jail term given to another footballer Pavel Mamayev with a 1-year community service, RAPSI reported from the courtroom.

The court also changed real term sentence of two other defendants, Kokorin's brother Kirill and coach Alexander Protasovitsky to 1 year of community service each. The three men, whose sentence was changed, were acquitted of hooliganism but found guilty of battery. They have a right to rehabilitation.

All defendants were released from punishement as they had already served it.

On July 31, prosecutor asked the Meshchansky District Court of Moscow to uphold penal colony terms given to the defendants. The prosecutor demanded 1.5 years behind bars for Kokorin and his brother Kirill each, and 1 year and 5 months for Mamayev and children’s coach Alexander Protasovitsky on several counts.

In May, the Second Cassation Court of General Jurisdiction forwarded the case back to the Moscow City Court for reconsideration. According to a representative of the court, the judicial panel reversed an appeals instance sentence against the athletes because of serious criminal and procedure violations during its delivery.

The four men were arrested on October 11, 2018, and charged with hooliganism, battery and intended bodily injury. The defendants initiated two fights in central Moscow in the early morning of that day. According to the police, a driver of a Russian TV journalist received a nose fracture during the first incident on a street in central Moscow. Two hours later, Ministry of industry and trade official Denis Pak and CEO of the Central Scientific Research Automobile and Automotive Engines Institute Sergey Gaysin were assaulted by the footballers in a coffee bar and had to undergo medical treatment, the police stated. Pak reportedly sustained a concussion. The café’s video records showed one of the sportsmen beating up Pak with chair.

In May 2019, Kokorin and Mamayev were sentenced to 18 and 17 months in penal colony respectively. Kokorin’s younger brother Kirill and children’s football coach Alexander Protasovitsky received 18 and 17 months in penal colony respectively as requested by the prosecution. The men were found guilty of intended infliction of minor harm to health from molester motives. However, Kokorin’s younger brother was acquitted of beating CEO of the Central Scientific Research Automobile and Automotive Engines Institute Sergey Gaysin.

In September, Kokorin, his brother and Mamayev were granted parole and released from prison.