Sofian Kiyine appeared before the police judge in Liège in gray dress trousers, a white shirt and black moccasins. His tense face betrayed his nerves. He calmly answered the chairman’s questions and looked straight ahead, his gaze strategically averted from the cameras of the press present. By his side: mother and father Kiyine who have always supported their son.
Back to the night of the infamous crash. It is Thursday, March 30, when the 26-year-old OH Leuven player is on his way to his home in Liège around 7:45 PM, after a dinner with friends. At that time it is still Ramadan, the fasting period for Muslims in which Kiyine also participates, but that afternoon he decided to sin.
Kiyine said he wanted to “gain strength” for the match that would take place against Genk in the weekend. He also made an exception for consuming alcohol. “I drank five to six gin and tonics spread out over the afternoon,” Kiyine reluctantly admitted in the police court.
Hot and cold at the same time
After the pleasant afternoon, the professional footballer got into his car, but something went wrong near a roundabout in Flémalle. To this day, Sofian Kiyine maintains that he had a “cold faint”. “I felt hot and cold at the same time,” he testified in court. “I started fiddling with the air conditioning in my car, but that didn’t help. The last thing I remember is being overtaken by a car. Afterwards I don’t know anything anymore.”
What followed was mind-blowing: Kiyine drove over the roundabout at breakneck speed and was catapulted 45 meters through the air. He flew into the Flémalle sports hall with his Mercedes A-class. Eleven seconds before, girls were still training at the crash site. There were cameras in the sports hall, the images showed how the girls were scared to death. There were also children in the changing rooms and showers who had previously trained.
Alcolock
Miraculously, only Kiyine herself was injured. He suffered several fractures. His heel was also badly hit. He ended up in the intensive care unit. Toxicological examination revealed that the professional footballer had a blood alcohol level of 1.72 at the time of the crash. Moreover, based on observations, Kiyine was driving 138 kilometers per hour. The maximum permitted speed on that road is 50 kilometers per hour.
His employer, first division club OH Leuven, decided to put Kiyine on hold for a while. In mid-June he was allowed to train again for the new season after he had given a clear signal. For example, he had an alcolock installed.
The police court took the theory of malaise seriously. “How come you were still able to send a WhatsApp message a minute before the accident? What if you felt so bad after all? This could have been so much more tragic,” the prosecutor said.
Publicly crucified
“My client became unconscious and unconsciously pressed the accelerator, causing his vehicle to suddenly move forward,” said Kiyine’s lawyer Steve Van Laenen. The chairman replied that excess alcohol could be a possible cause of this malaise. “My client barely braked. It is clear that he did not know what was happening,” said Van Laenen.
Kiyine himself wanted to emphasize that he is happy that there were no casualties. “Because that would have haunted me for the rest of my life.” The public prosecutor demanded a four-month driving ban and a fine of 2,400 euros. The defense requested a suspended sentence, partly because Kiyine had already been “publicly crucified” in recent months. Verdict on March 19.
