Director linked to Benfica sought by Interpol | OneFootball

Maria Krivopishina, director of the Benfica Academy in Ukraine, has been included on Interpol’s list of internationally wanted persons as part of an investigation related to the death of a 10-year-old child during a training camp for young footballers held in August 2023.

The information was reported by the Ukrainian outlet Sport.ua, which cites a notification allegedly received by Svitlana Honcharuk, the mother of the deceased child, from the police authorities. According to the same source, the official is believed to be outside Ukraine, a circumstance that led the authorities to initiate procedures aimed at her possible extradition.

According to documents from the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine cited by the portal football24.ua, Maria Krivopishina is suspected of committing offences set out in Article 271, paragraph 2, of the Ukrainian Criminal Code, concerning the violation of workplace safety rules resulting in the death of a person.

According to the investigation, serious alleged failures in complying with safety measures during the Benfica Academy camp were identified, conclusions that, according to the authorities, were supported by forensic examinations. Meanwhile, a Ukrainian court ordered the suspect’s detention in absentia, a decision that was later upheld by the Kyiv Court of Appeal.

The case dates back to August 2023, during a training camp held at the Olympic Village facilities on the outskirts of Kyiv, where the Benfica Academy operates in Ukraine. According to the investigation, a coach allegedly took a group of children to swim in a lake around nine metres deep, allegedly without ensuring proper adult supervision. Among the participants was 10-year-old Ivan Honcharuk, who, according to the authorities, could not swim and ended up drowning.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.