The wife top Russian goalkeeper Vyacheslav Malafeev was killed in a traffic accident in St. Petersburg early on Thursday morning.
Marina Malafeev's car flew some 150 meters after hitting a snow bank on the side of St. Petersburg's Primorskoye highway, said a press spokesman at FC Zenit, Vyacheslav Malafeev's club. The car rammed through a billboard at a height of 6-7 meters before slamming into a tree and landing upside down.
The 32-year-old keeper will be replaced at tonight's home game against Dutch side FC Twente by Yury Zhevnov.
Malafeev's teammates announced later on Thursday that they would wear black armbands during the game.
Marina was a producer of the Russian rock group M-16 and was returning home from a gig with lead-singer Dmitry Rybakov when the accident took place. Rybakov survived with severe injuries and is currently in intensive care in a St. Petersburg hospital.
MOSCOW, March 17 (RIA Novosti)
