Russian players punished after video of €250K champagne party emerges

Aleksandr Kokorin and Pavel Mamaev have been handed tough punishments for their orchestrating of a Monte Carlo party that saw a reported €250,000 spent on 500 bottles of champagne.

The drinks and sparklers were brought out to the tune of the Russian national anthem at the Twiga venue, prompting derision back in the players' homeland due to the celebrations following a disappointing Euro 2016 elimination for Russia.

Mamaev has been dropped to FC Krasnador's reserves for his party planning, and Kokorin, formerly a target for Arsenal, has faced the same sanction and a "substantial" fine. It was confirmed by his employer Zenit St. Petersburg in a statement:

Zenit Football Club wish to state our extreme disappointment over the incident involving our player Alexander Kokorin.

Unfortunately, some Russian players can find themselves in these scandalous situations due to a lack of common sense and culture norms in their behavior in public places. We have conducted our own investigation into this episode and as it has given the entirety of Russian football damage to its reputation. Therefore the club have decided to move Alexander Kokorin to Zenit-2 and impose on him a substantial monetary fine.

Russia finished bottom of Group B with a solitary point, with Kokorin and Mamaev appearing in all three matches.