Former defender Aleksei Bugayev, 43, enlisted to participate in the conflict after being arrested in September this year, in southern Russia; Russian army was unable to recover the former player’s body for burial
The former defender, who defended the national team in 2004, died this Sunday in the war in The death was confirmed by the former athlete’s father to TASS, the Russian state news agency. Bugayev, 43, enlisted to take part in the war after being arrested in September this year in southern Russia. He had been sentenced to nine and a half years in prison for different allegations of drug trafficking. The Russian Armed Forces often recruit soldiers from penitentiaries.
According to Bugayev’s former manager, Anton Smirnov, the Russian Army was unable to recover the former player’s body for burial. Smirnov did not reveal details about the cause of death or where the fatal fight took place.
In his career as an athlete, Bugayev played for teams such as Lokomotiv Moscow and Krasnodar in the 2000s. He was not a frequent member of the Russian national team, but he was in the European Championship 20 years ago. And he was on the field in two matches. The former defender ended his career prematurely, in 2010, at the age of 29.
*With information from Estadão Conteúdo
Posted by Carolina Ferreira
