Quincy Promes: Dutch football star charged with attempted manslaughter

Dutch footballer Quincy Promes has been accused of stabbing a relative at a family party

Dutch footballer Quincy Promes will be prosecuted for attempted manslaughter and assault over the stabbing of a family member last year.

The Spartak Moscow player has been accused of seriously injuring a relative's knee in an attack at a family party last July.

Promes was arrested and held in custody for two nights while police questioned him about the incident last December.

The 29-year-old midfielder has denied the allegations.

On Thursday prosecutors said they had decided to bring charges of attempted manslaughter and assault against a 29-year-old from Amsterdam.

Promes, who played for Ajax in the Netherlands between 2019 and 2021, has been named as the suspect in Dutch media reports.

Prosecutors said the incident happened at a family party in Abcoude, a town just outside Amsterdam.

Dutch national broadcaster NOS said Promes stabbed a relative just below the kneecap in front of several witnesses after an argument escalated into a scuffle.

The AD newspaper quoted the relative as saying Promes "suddenly came at me" for reasons that were a mystery to him.

The relative suffered serious knee injuries and filed a complaint with police last November.

NOS said stabbings can be punishable by prison sentences of 24 to 42 months.

The date of the court hearing is yet to be determined.

Promes has said little about the incident to date, but denied any involvement through his lawyer.

In February this year, the footballer transferred to Russian Premier League club Spartak Moscow in a deal worth a reported €8.3m (£6.9m; $9.4m).

When asked about the incident in an interview at the time he joined the club, he said: "I leave it to my lawyers and try to focus on football. I have always done that."

Promes returned to Spartak Moscow after a successful first stint at the club between 2014 and 2018. During that period, in 2017, he was named Russia's footballer of the year.

He played for Sevilla in Spain's La Liga and Ajax in the Dutch Eredivisie before going back to Spartak.

He has scored seven goals in 50 appearances for the Dutch national team since his debut in 2014.

He last appeared for the Netherlands in their upset 2-0 defeat against the Czech Republic in an Euro 2020 match in June.

In October this year, Dutch national coach Louis van Gaal said he wouldn't select Promes for the team while until the criminal case against him was ongoing. "I don't think I select players who are involved in such matters," van Gaal said.