Belgian Soccer Player Sofian Kiyine on Trial for High-Speed Crash into Sports Hall

On March 30th, Sofian Kiyine was involved in a serious car accident. While driving along the Meuse quays, near Flémalle in the direction of Liège towards Flémalle, he violently hit a roundabout before being ejected several meters and crossing the wall of the Louis Melin sports hall, located at the entrance to the town of Flémalle, at the intersection of the Destrée quay and the Passeur d’eau street. The Belgian-Moroccan player was driving at a speed exceeding 130 km/h on a section of road limited to 90 km/h. Eleven seconds before the crash, girls were still training at the accident site. Cameras installed in the gymnasium show how they were terrified. The lives of the children in the locker rooms and showers who had previously been trained were also in danger. Injured, the attacking midfielder at OH Louvain was taken to the hospital by the Liège firefighters. He suffered multiple fractures, but he was able to recover his health. Subsequently, the footballer tested positive for the alcohol test. It appears he had a blood alcohol level of 1.72 per thousand at the time of the accident. The OH Leuven football club decided to suspend Kiyine. In mid-June, he was allowed to resume training for the new season after sending a clear signal. He requested a breathalyzer test for his vehicle on his own initiative.

This week, Kiyine appeared before the Liège police court, in the presence of his parents and his lawyer. At the stand, he insists that he had a "blackout". "I was hot and cold at the same time," he testified. [...] I started fiddling with the air conditioning in my car, but it didn’t help. The last thing I remember is being overtaken by a car. After that, I don’t remember anything." Not enough to convince the court. "How come you were able to send a WhatsApp message a minute before the accident if you were feeling so bad? It could have had much more tragic consequences," the prosecutor said in a tone of reprimand. Lawyer Steve Van Laenen takes up Sofiane’s defense. "My client lost consciousness and involuntarily pressed the accelerator, which caused his vehicle to lurch forward," he pleaded. The president of the court does not hear it that way. According to him, the excess of alcohol could be at the origin of this blackout. "My client barely braked. It’s clear he didn’t realize what was happening," Van Laenen added.

To read: Belgian Footballer Sofian Kiyine Tests Positive for Alcohol After Serious Car Crash

Kiyine himself says he is happy that there were no victims. "Because that would have haunted me for the rest of my life," he assures. The public prosecutor’s office has requested a four-month driving ban and a fine of 2,400 euros. The defense has requested a suspended sentence, notably because he has already been "publicly crucified" in recent months. The verdict will be handed down on March 19.