One of the most notorious slander cases in Russian football reached a conclusion on Tuesday, with the country's top sports commentator ordered to pay damages to Zenit St. Petersburg goalkeeper Vyacheslav Malafeev.
Dmitry Guberniev, who calls games for state broadcaster Rossiya-2, claimed Malafeev's wife was being pursued by police before a fatal car crash in March 2011.
He also implied Malafeev was a poor alternative to be the national team goalkeeper when then-No. 1 choice Igor Akinfeev got injured.
A court outside Moscow ordered Guberniev, 38, to pay $2,500 in total damages, a spokesman told RIA Novosti. Guberniev, a former rower, denies wrongdoing and vowed to appeal.
Guberniev made the comments in August 2011 during a match in which CSKA Moscow's Akinfeev hurt his knee, and although they were not broadcast over the airwaves due to a commercial break, they were audible to Internet viewers.
A lawyer for Malafeev said he had sought $50,000 in damages but was satisfied with the outcome nonetheless.
Guberniev, who was temporarily suspended from football commentary over the controversy, was also told to make a public retraction of both claims.
He had previously expressed regret for the use of "idiomatic expressions" - a euphemism for swearing on air - but stopped short of apologizing to Malafeev.