Ottawa Fury player attacked while traveling to NASL match

The Ottawa Fury will face the Silverbacks on Saturday night in Atlanta, and the trip to the southeastern United States was an eventful one for the Canadian club. On the Air Canada flight to Atlanta, 22-year old Brazilian-born Oliver Minatel was attacked by another passenger.

A CNN reporter on the same the flight was seated several rows behind the victim, and spoke to Minatel and several witnesses shortly after the incident. That reporter, Paula Newton, is reporting that a passenger sitting directly behind the player attempted to choke the Fury forward with the cord of his headphones, before being subdued by several other passengers, including several Ottawa players.

After arriving in Atlanta, the FBI responded to the situation, and Minatel was taken to the hospital for evaluation. Fury head coach Marc Dos Santos had the following to say about the player and the situation upon arrival in Atlanta:

"We’re very thankful to everyone who came to the aid of Oliver and relieved that he’s OK and ready to play in our game against the Silverbacks in Atlanta tomorrow evening. I and others on the flight have made statements to the proper authorities and I’d like to leave further comment on the matter to them while we prepare for the game."

Best wishes to Minatel and Fury ahead of this weekend's match.