Former Russian national team midfielder Pavel Mamaev weighed in on the remarks made by Cypriot Aris striker Alexander Kokorin, who suggested that every real man should spend time behind bars at least once in life.
“To be honest, I did not watch Kokorin’s interview. I don’t even have the time to watch.”
“Do I agree with Kokorin? Everyone forms their own view. I can’t say whether it’s true or not. Today I understand that prison has brought me nothing but losses and none of the benefits that might have been hoped for. It was an experience, yes, but I did not gain anything positive from it. I don’t want to discuss it further, but this is simply my opinion,” Mamaev told Match TV.
In October 2018, Pavel Mamaev, the Kokorin brothers, and their friend Alexander Protasovitsky became defendants in a criminal case tied to two fights in the center of Moscow. During one of the incidents, Kokorin struck Denis Pak, the head of the Department of Industry and Trade, with a chair, leaving him injured at a public venue in Moscow.
They received actual jail terms in May 2019: Mamaev and Protasovitsky were sentenced to one year and five months in a general regime penal colony, while the Kokorin brothers received one year and six months each. They were released on parole in September 2019 after serving part of their terms.
Former television presenter Dmitry Guberniev clarified that Pavel Mamaev is not closely aligned with Alexander Kokorin and emphasized that the two former teammates are distinct individuals with separate paths and histories.