Ottawa Fury coach Marc Dos Santos has revealed that one of his players was attacked by a passenger sitting behind him on an Air Canada Jazz flight bound for Atlanta.
The Fury were travelling on Friday evening ahead of their second NASL away game of the season against Atlanta Silverbacks when 22-year-old forward Oliver Minatel was set upon by the man before another passenger intervened.
According to Dos Santos, Minatel was shaken up but did not receive any injuries as a result of the incident.
"Somebody tried to choke one of our players, out of the blue, and it wasn't a fun moment... and I think some of our guys are in shock, but now everything's back to order," he told CBC News.
"He's good now. We went through everything we had to go through with him with the local police and even the FBI. It was like a movie, you know?
"We don't expect that when we're just coming to train and play a soccer game. It's maybe a once-in-a-lifetime thing that happens and we just have to deal with it."
Dos Santos and other members of the Fury team also revealed that the passenger was pulled aside by security officials at Toronto Pearson International Airport, prior to boarding the flight.
