Matvey Safonov challenges child support law in court

Russia's Constitutional Court will hold an open hearing on 8 October 2026 into a complaint brought by Matvey Safonov, the PSG and Russia goalkeeper, over child maintenance payments.

Safonov is challenging Article 81, Part 1 of the Family Code, which sets maintenance for one child at 25% of a parent's monthly income where no agreement between the parties exists. He argues the rule prevents a court from fixing a fixed sum matched to a child's actual needs when the paying parent has a stable income.

The case traces back to a Moscow court ruling in January 2024, which ordered Safonov to pay a quarter of his earnings each month from January 2022 until his child reaches adulthood. At the time, courts established that Safonov, then playing as goalkeeper for FC Krasnodar, earned around 8-12.5 million roubles a month. Between late 2021 and 2023 he paid his former wife roughly 9 million roubles in total, equivalent to 250,000-500,000 roubles a month, which did not stop her taking the matter to court. His appeals were rejected.

Safonov has argued that a footballer's income is unstable, and that maintenance far exceeding a child's needs — given his earnings dwarf the mother's — does not serve the child's welfare and instead risks letting her benefit unfairly. Citing the absence of any upper limit on maintenance under the current rule, and invoking the principle that both parents bear equal responsibility, he has asked the court to set a fixed sum instead.