Alexander Aas, captain of the professional football club Strømsgodset in Drammen, was assaulted on a street in Skien late Saturday night and badly beaten. His injuries are considered so severe that he’ll likely have to miss the club’s next league match against Vålerenga of Oslo this weekend.
Newspaper Drammens Tidende reported Monday that Aas was attacked after leaving a nightclub in Skien with his girlfriend Heidi Bodahl Ekornrød. Aas said two men approached the couple and asked for cigarettes. “I thought they were really aggressive,” Aas said. “I told them we didn’t have any and asked them to leave.”
One of the men then started to punch Aas, who returned the punches and then tried to get away. He slipped and fell, however, and the men started beating and kicking him while he lay on the ground. At that point, Ekornrød tackled one of the men and started screaming, attracting the attention and help of others.
Aas filed a police report on Monday and an investigation is underway. Meanwhile, Aas faces surgery for a broken nose, needed stitches for cuts on his face and suffered a concussion.
“Alexander is a robust guy, and he’ll play when he feels ready,” Strømsgodset’s manager, Erik Espeseth, told Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK). “Right now he’s been told to turn off the light and take care of his health.” Espeseth was upset over what happened to his key player. “We of course condemn this kind of raw violence,” he told NRK. “It must be allowed to go out and enjoy yourself on a free evening without something like this happening.”
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