Video Shows Russian, Ukrainian Soccer Players Brawl Inside Turkish Hotel

Russian and Ukrainian soccer players are pointing fingers at one another after a brawl reportedly occurred Monday inside a Turkish hotel.

The skirmish reportedly occurred between members of Russian team Shinnik Yaroslavl FC and Ukrainian team Minaj FC in the Royal Seginus Hotel in Antalya, Turkey. The teams are in town as part of a training camp.

Tensions are heightened because of the war between the countries that will reach the one-year mark on February 24.

A Facebook post with video published Tuesday morning by Minaj FC put the blame on the Russian players.

"The cause of the clash was the disgraceful behavior of the football players of the Russian team towards the hotel employee and provocative shouts towards the people of Transcarpathia," the post said.

Transcarpathia is a region in southwestern Ukraine near the southern slopes of the Carpathian Mountains. It borders Lviv on the north, the Ivano-Frankivsk region on the east, Romania on the south, and Slovakia and northwest Poland on the west. Minaj FC is headquartered in the region.

Telegram channel Bombardier reported that Minaj striker Danylo Kolesnyk stood up for a hotel cleaning lady who was allegedly insulted by a Russian player who was intoxicated.

The post reported that the Shinnik player belched in the toilet prior to "behaving inappropriately" toward that hotel employee. The fight began after Kolesnyk allegedly witnessed the behavior.

It also claimed that four Russian players required medical attention because of injuries.

Diplomats part of the Russian Consulate General in Antalya told Russian state media outlet TASS on Tuesday that Ukrainians were responsible for the aggression.

"According to information from the staff members of the Consulate General's Office, who visited the scene of the reported incident, the fight was provoked by inappropriate behavior on behalf of the Ukrainian side," one of the diplomat sources told TASS, adding that police arrived after the fight ensued and registered the act as disorderly conduct.

No charges were filed.

The diplomat added that according to information obtained from team management, no players asked for or required medical assistance.

He also said that to avoid future incidents, hotel management separated the teams into different hotels.

Russian Telegram channel Baza reported that several members of the Ukrainian club approached the head of Shinnik "and began to demand that he sing the Ukrainian anthem." The Russian allegedly responded for Ukrainians to "go out into the street and sort it out once in a while."

The post also alleged that several Ukrainian players were in the same elevator with the Russian player and beat him up. When the elevator reached the desired floor, the brawl began with other Russian team members.

Police and an ambulance reportedly came to the scene, with police and additional guards assuring the situation doesn't reoccur.

The Ukrainian club refuted the claims.

"The information of the Russian propaganda media about the fact that [Ukrainian players] forced the representatives of Shinnik to sing the national anthem and beat the player in the elevator is a traditional delusion," they said on Facebook. "The fight did take place, but already on the floor where the Russians stopped, and in equal formations. The number of victims on the part of Shinnik only confirms the fact that the Russians also 'throw away' their own."

The club also claimed that Russians continued to fight among themselves in a hotel room afterward, saying the incident should have never happened because Ukrainians demanded that Russians not stay in the same hotel.

"The organizers themselves claim that the hotel agreed to accommodate Shinnik," Minaj FC officials said. "Transcarpathians appealed to the management of Royal Seginus with a demand to evict the Russians because representatives of the terrorist country do not have the right to train and play football outside their country."

Newsweek reached out to the Ukrainian and Russian clubs for comment.