Fyodor Smolov managed to settle the case of a fight in a cafe: details

36-year-old former Russian national team striker Fyodor Smolov has reached a settlement with the victim in the case of the conflict at the Moscow “Kofemaniya” cafe. The footballer paid compensation in the amount of 4 million rubles, as reported by the RIA Novosti news agency.
According to the athlete’s lawyer, the parties have officially executed a settlement agreement. Of the total amount, Smolov transferred 3 million rubles directly to the victim, and an additional 1 million rubles were deposited with a notary back in June 2025. The lawyer clarified that the victim must now file a motion with the court to terminate the criminal prosecution of her client.

As a reminder, the conflict occurred on May 28, 2025, on the summer veranda of the “Kofemaniya” cafe on Bolshaya Nikitskaya Street in Moscow. A verbal altercation occurred between the athlete and one of the establishment’s customers, which escalated into a fight. Video of the incident only appeared online in July. Smolov himself claimed that by that point he had already paid the blackmailers who threatened to release the video.

In September 2025, a criminal case was opened against the athlete under the article “Intentional infliction of moderate bodily harm.” Smolov publicly apologized and stated that until the very end he hoped to resolve the situation without judicial intervention. Initially, if the victim’s injuries had been deemed serious, the footballer faced up to eight years in prison. However, after partially admitting guilt, the maximum term was reduced to three years. The next hearing in the case is scheduled for April 1.

Fedor Smolov represented the Russian national team from 2012 to 2021: during this time, he played 45 matches and scored 16 goals. A significant achievement in his club career was winning the championship with FC Krasnodar in 2025.

An interesting detail: the location of the incident turned out to be significant. In 2018, a similar incident involving Alexander Kokorin and Pavel Mamayev occurred at the same Coffee Mania. Their victim was Denis Pak, an official of the Ministry of Industry and Trade. The footballers were sentenced to real terms: Kokorin received one and a half years in prison, Mamayev – one year and five months. However, in the fall of 2019, they were released on parole.

Fedor Smolov is now married to 31-year-old blogger Karina Istomina. The couple formalized their relationship in June 2023, and in November of the same year, their daughter Laura was born – this is the athlete’s first official marriage.