[K-1]: Badr Hari Involved in assault at Amsterdam Club
Reports vary a bit, but by all accounts, late Friday night, Hari and three others attempted to gain entry to a nightclub in the Leidseplein district in Amsterdam. They were denied access to the club by a bouncer based on dress code. From there, an altercation broke out, and at the end, the doorman was left with a fractured eye socket, a broken nose, and may ultimately need a metal plate in his head. While the club or the victim have not pressed charges, the police have gotten involved due to the severity of the attack. At this time, it appears that they are looking for Hari and his friends, who have not turned themselves in or been found.
Clearly, there's a lot of gray area here about what exactly happened. How did the fight start? Was Badr directly involved, or was it his companions? But no matter how you look at it the end result is the same - Hari was involved in some capacity, a man is seriously injured, and the police are searching for Hari. That's not a good picture.
K-1 has tried hard in the past year to present Hari as a new "mature" fighter following the 2008 GP disqualification fiasco. But this incident will make it hard to keep that image going. FEG probably won't be particularly moved by this news unless Hari finds himself in some severe legal trouble (which, if he continues to hide from the police, is certainly a possibility), but it could have an impact on some of his other plans - particularly his desire to potentially fight in the Olympics.
We'll continue to keep you posted on this news as updates become available.
