Pavel Bure filed a lawsuit

from SovSport.ru




June 19, 2007

The famous hockey player Pavel Bure filed a lawsuit against the largest British airline British Airways because he was thrown out of the plane. The pilot had mistaken Bure for a soccer hooligan and flatly refused to lift the airplane in the air with suspicious passenger on board.

The police had to withdraw Pavel Bure from the flight. Now hockey player is asking British Airways 20 million dollars for moral compensation, said his lawyer Dmitry Ragulin.

Ragulin:

The lawsuit was filed after six months, because we couldn't solve it peacefully. The airline did not fulfill its obligations under a contract of transportation service. My client was forced to file a suit in Tverskoy District Court of Moscow.

The incident occurred on October 31. My client was forced to leave the plane, fly another flight in Economy class and it took him over 24 hours to reach the final destination (Los Angeles). The lawsuit is first and foremost about the compensation for moral harm because we have not received any apology from the airline. All that we have received is the letter expressing regret over the incident and a hope that our client would use the airline in the future.

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Update June 20th, 2007

Bure may withdraw a lawsuit against the airline

According to news agency "Ves Sport", Pavel Bure's lawyer Dmitry Ragulin said that the decision on whether to pursue a legal action against British Airways, after the latter issued a formal apology for the incident, will be taken after consultations with his client.

"I've read the official statement by British Airways where the airline issued an apology to my client," said Dmitry Ragulin. In particular there was a lot of talk about soccer fans flying the day before. But one can only wonder, why Pavel Bure? What is the relation between celebrity and soccer fans who were swinging the aircraft? So far we have not received the answer to this question.

The police who arrived to the scene found nothing wrong with my client's behavior and did not even make a record. I will consult with Pavel, and, of course, if the so-called "apology" will satisfy him, we may withdraw a lawsuit. In any event, this is only a first step on the part of British Airways, and we expect it will be followed by other steps."

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Update June 21, 2007

According to RIA Novosti, it was not 20 million dollars (SovSport.ru: 20 млн долларов), but 20 million rubles...

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How Ovechkin spends his summer

by Pavel Lysenkov sovsport.ru (Excerpt)

Ovechkin is the first player in the last 55 years (after the great Terry Sawchuk, the goalkeeper of Detroit Red Wings), who was selected twice in his first two seasons in the league to NHL First All-Star Team. Sasha scored 46 goals and for the second consecutive year led the league in shots (392).

Lysenkov: How are you spending your summer?

Ovechkin: I am leaving to Turkey on vacation very soon. I wanted the same hotel I was staying last year, but it was all booked up, so I had to take the hotel next to it. After that I will go to St. Petersburg, where I'll begin to prepare for the next season with Sergei Gonchar and Evgeni Malkin. You can say Gonchar organizes this mini-camp, he lives in St. Petersburg during summer time. As Sergei described, it has a great environment for training and workout, and a prove to it is his last season. Sergei was in excellent shape.

L.: And what are you doing now?

O.: I am at RGUFK (Russian State University of Physical Education), taking my exams. I am finishing my forth year. My major, of course, is hockey. Just passed an exam on ecology.

L.: What was the essay question?

O.: Got a question about hygiene.... Women's hygiene... (laughs)

L.: That was ecology, Sasha, not anatomy...

O.: Just kidding. It was as usual, they got the question, I got the answer and an excellent grade.

L.: Is it easy for Ovechkin to pass an exam? Are you asked for the autograph first.. and are they too nice to you?

O.: No, I have the same treatment as any other student.

L.: How many exams have you passed already?

O.: Let me see… Here... three exams and 10 credits.

L.: When were you able to do all this?!

O.: That because RGUFK is a great college, they make you feel comfortable. I receive all my projects and assignments via e-mail. I am not only playing hockey during the season, I am reading my textbooks and studying. I don't want to follow, say, Mike Tyson's route, I want to get an education… I'd like take this opportunity to say thank you via SovSport to all my instructors for helping me to learn a lot, for their professionalism.

L.: How many exams are left?

O.: Five more.

L.: Well, break a leg!

O.: Keep your fingers crossed.

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