Martinjak in handcuffs before County Court: investigative detention sought
Marko Martinjak, a well-known bare-knuckle boxer, was brought in handcuffs before the County Court in Zagreb following a violent incident at a futsal tournament.
Martinjak brought to court after head-to-head clash at futsal tournament in Zagreb
Marko Martinjak, a bare-knuckle boxer and holder of a title belt in the bridger category, was brought in handcuffs before the County Court in Zagreb, Index.hr reports. Prosecutors intend to seek investigative detention, and a decision by the investigating judge is expected soon.
The incident occurred on Sunday, 31 May, at approximately 21:30 on Pešćenica, at a playing field on Herman Bužan Street, during the final of the Goat League futsal tournament. At one point, Martinjak approached player Tomislav Mrkonjić and, following a brief verbal altercation, struck him with a headbutt. Mrkonjić fell to the ground, and Martinjak then kicked the ball at his back. As a result of this conduct, his team was ejected from the tournament.
Mrkonjić was treated at the Clinical Hospital Centre Zagreb, where it was established that he had suffered serious injury. Police completed the criminal investigation and filed a criminal report with the competent state prosecutor's office. Martinjak was handed over to the detention supervisor.
"Police officers from the Zagreb Police Directorate have completed the criminal investigation into a 36-year-old on suspicion of committing the criminal offence of grievous bodily harm against a 32-year-old," the police announced. For this criminal offence, as provided for in Article 118 of the Criminal Code, a prison sentence of between six months and five years is prescribed.
Martinjak claims he was provoked; his counsel denies this
On Facebook, Martinjak expressed regret and wished Mrkonjić a swift recovery, but in an interview with Net.hr he stated that his opponent had constantly provoked him. Regarding the blow itself, he said that it was "more of a shove than a punch".
"The man constantly provoked my players, and at one point during the match all of his teammates ran onto the pitch against one of our players, who is also my godbrother. When I started shouting what they were doing, he literally came right up into my face and said some nasty things to me, to which I unfortunately reacted the way I did, although it was more of a shove than a punch," Martinjak claims.
Lawyer Vukušić, who represents Mrkonjić as the injured party, directly disputes these claims. "Martinjak's statement that Tomislav Mrkonjić provoked the opposing team's players during the tournament is untrue," she said. According to her, Mrkonjić did not say a single word to Martinjak, let alone something insulting. "Mr Martinjak dealt my client a headbutt without any cause or reason," lawyer Vukušić added, denying the claim that the two apologised to each other, and revealing that members of Martinjak's team are sending messages of support to Mrkonjić and distancing themselves from their captain's conduct.
Career between the ring and prison
Martinjak has been active in bare-knuckle boxing since 2016. In October last year, he regained the title of world champion in the bridger category with a knockout victory over Dana Podmore, thus becoming only the second fighter in the organisation's history to hold belts in two different categories — he previously held the title in the super cruiserweight category.
Before bare-knuckle boxing, he had a professional boxing career with modest results — he recorded eight wins and twenty-eight losses. He admitted long ago that he deliberately lost some matches to make money.
"I entered professional boxing solely with the desire to earn extra money because of my ex-wife and the child I had. I didn't have a high salary as a security guard, so every bit of extra money was welcome to support the family," he said in an earlier interview with Index.
Martinjak also has a criminal record. In late 2018 he was arrested on suspicion of committing five robberies and one attempted robbery in the Zagreb area, in which more than 100,000 kuna was stolen. He was arrested after police received a tip that a suspect was in the vicinity of a financial institution. Police found a HS 2000 pistol on him, which was found to have been stolen from a security guard during a robbery of a Raiffeisen Bank branch in City Center East.
At his investigative interrogation he admitted to all the criminal offences, and cited the purchase of drugs, debts and everyday expenses as his motive. According to police, he committed some of the robberies under threat with a gas pistol, and in some cases also under threat of a bomb — at his interrogation he claimed it was a toy in the shape of a bomb. He was convicted and sentenced to four years in prison, of which he served three years and four months.
"After three years and four months in prison, during which I lost so much of my life, I realised and decided that that wasn't me. I was trying to be something I wasn't. I realised that I am first and foremost a sportsman at heart and that I had to return to that," Martinjak said. After his release from prison he worked as a waiter and a steward, and then returned to sport — first as a trainer, and later as a competitor. In one statement he said: "If I weren't involved in this sport, I would be in prison because I would be killing people."
A decision on investigative detention in the case of the violent incident from the futsal tournament is expected in the near future.
Source: Index.hr