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Celta's Feder Smolov broke lockdown to attend fiancée's 18th

Celta Vigo's Feder Smolov returned to his native Russia to attend his fiancée's 18th birthday p...



Celta's Feder Smolov broke loc...
Soccer

Celta's Feder Smolov broke lockdown to attend fiancée's 18th

Celta Vigo's Feder Smolov returned to his native Russia to attend his fiancée's 18th birthday party.

Smolov is the second Celta player to defy the strict Spanish lockdown instructions, after Danish forward Pione Sisto returned to his native Denmark last week.

30-year-old Smolov, a striker, is engaged to Maria Yumasheva - the granddaughter of former Russian President Boris Yeltsin.

“The player repeatedly requested permission to travel to Russia for a personal matter,” said a source at the club, quoted in Spanish newspaper AS.

smolov

“The club could not give it to him because La Liga did not authorise it, but he promptly reported his movements and left with the commitment to return once he solved his personal affairs.”

Spain is currently in its fourth week of lockdown, which will now run until 26 April, with the death toll in the country at over 12,000 at the time of writing.

Spanish action

The Spanish FA suspended play in La Liga on 23 March, following the spread of the coronavirus.

The statement added: "Both the RFEF and LaLiga wish to express our greatest public gratitude to all those who are dedicating their best efforts to provide essential services to the Spanish people.

"We also share our condolences for all the deceased and a warm embrace from the world of soccer to the many families that are losing loved ones."

In addition, the Atalanta-Valencia Champions League match was identified as a major spreader of the outbreak, with fans attending the match in Milan returning to Bergamo and the Iberian peninsula.

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