’Around the Match Day’ is a new feature on RussianFootballNews.com. We will take a look at all the major and minor stories surrounding the match day and give you an overview you do not get elsewhere. In the last round of the Russian Premier League Zenit St. Petersburg finally received the gold medals they secured long ago. Zenit celebrated the championship at home, when they won 1-0 at home against Lokomotiv Moscow. The league title is Zenit’s first since the 2011/2012 season, and it is also … [Read more...]
Thick Nick, Vitaliy Mutko and the RFU’s Merry Dance
May 18, 2015 by Leave a Comment
At the end of April in a stunning masterclass of understatement the Russian Minister for Sport Vitaliy Mutko admitted there are problems at the RFU, but claimed he is their 'last supporter'. It has been rumoured that Mutko is eyeing up the position himself as he has become more and more prominent in the public eye regarding the string of PR disasters that have befallen the RFU, and his support for the vote of no confidence in incumbent president Nikolai Tolstykh only fanned the flames. His … [Read more...]
Fabio Capello’s €7 million Contract Details Leaked
April 29, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Last week, Fabio Capello's contract with the Russian Football Union (RFU) was made public by Novaya Gazeta in a highly embarassing episode for the game's governing body. The scale of renumeration that the Italian has been enjoying has long been known, and recently confirmed, as €7 million a year, making him the world's highest-paid national team manager. That isn't the most damaging part of last Friday's revelations, however; two controversial clauses have come to light that cast serious doubts … [Read more...]
Russia’s 2018 Dream Can Turn Into a Nightmare
November 8, 2014 by 1 Comment
When the official 2018 World Cup logo, a logo that reflected the Russian people’s heart and soul according to FIFA’s president, Sepp Blatter, was revealed in Moscow on the 28th of October, the countdown to the World’s biggest sporting event finally began. In an interview with FIFA’s official website, Russia’s minister of sport, Vitaly Mutko, stated earlier that “winning the right to host the FIFA World Cup was a dream come true for millions of Russians." Unfortunately, the World Cup may very … [Read more...]
Lausanne Organization to Rule on Controversial Dynamo - Zenit November Match
May 10, 2013 by Leave a Comment
The Lausanne-based Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) will decide this weekend whether or not to uphold the Russian Football Union's decision to punish Zenit with a technical defeat in last November's match vs Dinamo, after a flare thrown from the Zenit away stand nearly hit Dinamo goalkeeper Anton Shunin. The resolution of Zenit's nearly six-month long appeal will finally bring clarity to the top of the Premier League table. If the appeal is successful, Zenit will leap into a tie for first … [Read more...]
Murky Days Ahead
March 30, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Russian football’s stability, uncertain in the best of times, looks even more suspect this weekend. One can’t help but pity Nikolay Tolstykh, Russian Football Union (RFU) president, as he tries to tackle the proposed Russian-Ukrainian United Championship, mounting debt, widespread corruption allegations and agent excesses. On Wednesday, the RFU reported that it had written to Gazprom, Russia’s state-controlled energy giant, to ask if the company plans to resume its financial support for the … [Read more...]
