Rai Vloet received his sentence.
Rai Vloet would visit the Netherlands for a court hearing in March. EPA / AOP
Dutch soccer player Rai Vloet, 27, has been sentenced to two and a half years in prison in Hoofddorp, the Netherlands, reports RTL News.
He was found guilty at the age of four Gio-to the traffic accident that led to the boy’s death.
In November 2021, Vloet drove after another car at a speed of 193 kilometers per hour. The speed limit in the area was 130 km/h. Gio, who was in the car, died as a result of the accident.
According to the authorities, Vloet was drunk at the time of the accident.
The prosecutor demanded a 3.5-year prison sentence for Vloet. The judge considered that the case has already greatly affected Vloet’s career due to all the media attention and that the accused has also shown that he regrets what happened. Therefore, he reduced the sentence by a year.
According to the judge, Vloet drove recklessly and seriously violated traffic rules.
– He has the heaviest guilt for the accident, the judge stated.
Gio’s parents and sister were in the car at the time of the accident, but survived the crash. Gio’s family was disappointed by the verdict.
– It’s painful. The judge spoke of Vloet’s sincere remorse, but the relatives did not experience this, the lawyer for the relatives said Algemeen Dagbladin by.
Vloet represents Ural Yekaterinburg in Russia at the club team level. This has raised concerns about whether the player will ever return to the Netherlands to serve his sentence.
His lawyer Erik Thomas brushed off the concern and said his client would settle the sentence. However, Vloet can still appeal his sentence.
At the time of the accident, Vloet was playing for the Dutch premier league team Heracles. However, the club sold him to the Astana team playing in Kazakhstan when the details of the accident began to emerge.
Vloet’s lawyer Thomas denies that his client went to Kazakhstan and from there to Russia to escape the sentence.
Algemeen Dagblad – magazine, Vloet said earlier in March at a court hearing that he has no intention of getting a Russian passport.