Trouble and Secrecy Surround the World Cup Qualifier

[mastodon]

Player Death and Media Row Cloud Russian Preparations

Reuters - Russia's preparations were shrouded in secrecy ahead of their most important game of the year, Saturday's World Cup qualifier against Slovenia in Ljubljana.

The Russians lead Slovenia by four points in European group one, and victory would all but secure their place at next year's finals in Japan and South Korea.

But the tragic death of a player and an ongoing war of words between Russia coach Oleg Romantsev and the local media have cast a pall over the match.

CSKA Moscow goalkeeper Sergei Perkhun died on Tuesday, 10 days after slumping into a coma following an accidental clash of heads with an opposing player during a Russian premier division match.

"The (national team) players are still in a state of shock," Russian soccer chief Vyacheslav Koloskov said. "Even those who play abroad heard the news and were overwhelmed with emotion."

"I never new that playing football could be such a dangerous profession," former CSKA midfielder Dmitry Khokhlov, who now plays for Spain's Real Sociedad, was quoted as saying.

Earlier in the week, Romantsev, famous for lashing out at the media and failing to attend post-match news conferences, was up to his old tricks again when he walked out on a room of stunned reporters at a specially arranged team briefing.

"Probably, this is a world record as it lasted for just five minutes," declared the Russian news agency Itar-Tass. "But no one should be surprised because Romantsev was playing his role."

Romantsev apparently became angry after journalists asked him the "wrong questions".

When a reporter asked him about the fate of Lokomotiv Moscow striker Marat Izmailov, who has been called up to both the senior and under-21 national teams, Romantsev cut him short.

"I knew when I came here that you would ask about either Lokomotiv or Izmailov," he snapped.

"I only want questions about the national team, not the Olympic, under-21, second or third teams. Is that clear?"

The long-running feud between Romantsev and the local press appeared to be over when the coach reluctantly called off a media ban which had been in force since June 2.

The national team imposed a code of silence on the media following Russia's 1-1 draw with Yugoslavia in a World Cup qualifier in protest at what it perceived as biased coverage of the match. Some journalists suggested that the result in Moscow was pre-arranged as it suited both teams.

[mastodon]

Russians Fury Aimed at English Referee After Late Defeat

Reuters - Russians expressed their outrage on Monday after a crushing 2-1 defeat by Slovenia in Saturday's World Cup qualifier, decided by a last-minute penalty kick.

English referee Graham Poll awarded Slovenia a controversial penalty, which had Russian media and fans crying foul.

"In Ljubljana, referee Poll acted like a big-time bandit," splashed a front-page headline in Sport-Express newspaper.

"Murder in the eyes of millions," read a front-page headline in the other national sports daily, Sovietsky Sport.

Russian players and coaches were just as furious.

"A snivelling creep, who simply robbed us," the newspaper quoted Russia's leading player Alexander Mostovoi as saying when asked to describe the referee's decision. Sport-Express quoted Russia coach Oleg Romantsev, who refused to attend a post-match news conference in Ljubljana, as saying his players were devastated.

"Half the team cried in the locker room after the match because of this injustice, while Mostovoi was simply hysterical."

The penalty was a second bitter pill to swallow for the Russians, as it came just a day after UEFA ordered Lokomotiv Moscow to replay their Champions League match against FC Tirol, after upholding an appeal by the Austrian club. Lokomotiv won the second leg of their third qualifying round tie 1-0 on August 22 for an aggregate 4-1 victory, to reach the group stage of the Champions League.

But Tirol officials lodged an appeal with UEFA, claiming a mistake by Dutch referee Mario van der Ende, who booked the wrong Lokomotiv player, had cost them a chance to win the match. In the 72nd minute the referee mistakenly showed a yellow card to Vladimir Maminov instead of Ruslan Pimenov, who had committed the foul and should have been sent off for what was his second bookable offence.

Lokomotiv coach Yuri Syomin called UEFA's decision to replay the match "pure lawlessness". "What you saw in Nyon (the UEFA headquarters) was echoed in Ljubljana," Sport-Express said. "For two straight days Russian football fans had nothing to do but howl in futile rage."

"Why do they (Europeans) dislike us so much?" asked Romantsev, who also put the blame on Russian soccer chief Vyacheslav Koloskov.

"Someone is purposely killing Russian teams while the FIFA vice-president (Koloskov) is not doing anything about it," Romantsev said. "But I must also take the responsibility (for the loss). The team played badly in Ljubljana."

Russia's defeat threw the race in European group one wide open. They still lead on 17 points with Slovenia a point behind, with Yugoslavia, who beat Switzerland 2-1, in third place with 15 points with two games remaining.

"Nothing has changed. We must win our last two matches," Romantsev vowed, ahead of Wednesday's game on the far-flung Faroe Islands, which are more famous for farming than football.

"If we can't beat teams from sheep-rearing islands and Switzerland we don't deserve to go to the World Cup finals.