Ukrainian boxing champion Oleksandr Usyk was handcuffed at a Polish airport after he became “upset” when his travelling companion was denied boarding for disruptive behaviour, the airline and border guards said Wednesday. World heavyweight champion Usyk described the incident late Tuesday as a “misunderstanding” while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he was “disappointed by this attitude towards our citizen”. The 37-year-old boxer had been planning to fly from Krakow airport to Thessaloniki in Greece along with another man on a flight Tuesday operated by Polish airline Buzz, a subsidiary of Ryanair.
“The passenger travelling with Mr Usyk was correctly refused boarding… by the airport gate agent at Krakow Airport due to his disruptive behaviour,” Ryanair said in a statement to AFP on Wednesday.
“Mr Usyk was not refused boarding, however (he) chose not to board,” the airline said, adding that the gate agent later called for assistance from airport police.
The two men “were somewhat upset. They didn’t want to leave the departure gate. So in accordance with the procedure, our officers intervened,” local border guard spokesman Jacek Michalowski told AFP.
“They were issued a warning and released,” he said, denying that they had been detained.
Video footage circulating on social media showed officers walking a handcuffed Usyk through the airport.
“As you saw online, one of these people was handcuffed, but that was only for preventative reasons because they were upset and we needed to bring them to the room in peace,” Michalowski said.
Usyk on Tuesday tweeted that “a misunderstanding took place. It was quickly resolved”.
Zelensky said Tuesday he spoke with Usyk on the phone after the incident.
“I was disappointed by this attitude towards our citizen and champion,” Zelensky added on X.
“Now, everything is fine, our champion has been released, and he is no longer being detained.”
Usyk became boxing’s first four-belt undisputed heavyweight world champion in May, when he won against Britain’s Tyson Fury in Riyadh.
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