Quincy Promes, a former player for the Netherlands national football team and current Spartak Moscow forward, was convicted of assault by a Dutch court on Monday and sentenced to 18 months in prison.
Promes, who denied any wrongdoing, was not present at the Amsterdam court as he lives in Russia. He plans to appeal the verdict, according to his lawyer.
The court found that Promes stabbed his cousin in the leg during a family birthday party in 2020 after an argument over a stolen necklace. The cousin suffered serious injuries and filed a complaint with the police in November.
The court said that Promes deserved a longer sentence than the usual one year for such an offence because he was a well-known professional footballer and had an exemplary role in society. The court also criticized Promes for not taking any responsibility for his actions.
Promes, 31, who has 50 caps and seven goals for the Netherlands, was also charged with importing hundreds of kilograms of cocaine through Belgium in 2020 by the prosecutors last month. They said it was too early to seek his extradition.
Promes joined Ajax from Sevilla in 2019 for 15 million euros ($16.4 million) and returned to Spartak in 2021, where he was named Russia’s footballer of the year in 2017 during his first spell at the club.
He was part of the Netherlands squad at Euro 2020, which took place in 2021 due to Covid, but has not played for his country since then.
