Wir freuen uns verkünden zu können, dass unser Mann in Moskau zurück ist!
Um es kurz und reißerisch zu machen: Diesmal geht es um Geld, Gewalt und Persönlichkeitsrechte.Appeals to the governor as Anzhi fight for survival
Fans of Anzhi Makhachkala – the autonomous republic of Dagestan’s only top flight club – have sent an impassioned letter to the mayor of the city reminding him of the unifying power of football in the formerly troubled region. Having signed some of football’s top stars in 2011, bankrolled by the local oligarch Suleyman Kerimov, and subsequently sold or released them as part of swingeing budget cuts in 2013, the club remains in financial trouble.
Some of the stars who were previously part of the brief football revolution that took place in the south of Russia joined with the club’s fans in an appeal for the club’s survival. Former stars such as Samuel Eto’o, Roberto Carlos and Yuriy Zhirkov, together with fans and former executives called for new funds needed to keep the club afloat, spreading the hashtag #АнжиЖиви (Anzhi Alive) on social media.
Fans had also gained permission to hold a demonstration in the centre of Makhachkala to show their support. Fans of other clubs showed their support for Anzhi during league matches, with the Anzhi Alive hashtag displayed at FK Orenburg during their 1-1 draw with Krasnodar. The campaign was also supported by fans of Rubin Kazan and Arsenal Tula. Meanwhile, Krylya Sovetov Samara showed solidarity with Anzhi supporters by granting them free entry to the away section at the clubs’ RPL 6th round match on 1 September.
https://www.championat.com/football/news-3510985-bolelschiki-proveli-akciju-v-podderzhku-anzhi.html https://www.championat.com/football/news-3504875-bolelschiki-anzhi-napisali-otkrytoe-pismo-glave-dagestana.html https://www.sport-express.ru/football/rfpl/news/bolelschiki-orenburga-prisoedinilis-k-akcii-anzhi-zhivi-1450376/ https://rsport.ria.ru/football/20180830/1141002391.html
https://www.championat.com/football/news-3530513-stepashin-nuzhno-chtoby-fanaty-ustroivshie-draku-ne-pojavljalis-na-futbole.html
Trouble in Minsk as Zenit fans react to their heavy European defeat
14 fans of Zenit St. Petersburg were arrested in Minsk – albeit briefly – after seats were torn out of the newly refurbished Olympic Stadium and flares thrown onto the pitch during their Champions’ League qualifying round match against Dinamo Minsk, where the team from St. Petersburg suffered their heaviest defeat since 1989.
After displaying impressively coordinated chanting and marching around the streets of the city and apparently denuding local shops of all beer supplies, a number of Zenit fans expressed their displeasure at their team’s surprise 4-0 defeat by causing damage in the stadium. The novel experience of being able to drink beer in the stands, long forbidden at major sports events in Russia, likely contributed to the liveliness of the day’s activities.
Having been charged with “minor hooliganism”, along with “drunk and disorderly behavior in a public place,” and detained by the local police in Minsk for 24 hours, the fans were released and allowed to return to Russia.
https://78.ru/news/2018-08-10/bolelshiki_zenita_vilomali_kresla_na_stadione_v_minske
https://regnum.ru/news/2462663.html
https://www.eurosport.ru/football/europa-league/2018-2019/story_sto6882246.shtml https://rsport.ria.ru/football/20180810/1140269809.html
Fan-ID for the World Cup, not for the League say fans
After the generally positive experience of fans and the authorities with regard to the use of the Fan-IDs during the FIFA World Cup 2018 in Russia, discussions are ongoing among the authorities about the rollout of such a system for matches in the Russian Premier League (RPL). However, fan groups at various clubs have been using the opening matches of the 2018-19 season to demonstrate their disapproval of the idea, with banners appearing in matches in Moscow and beyond.
Russian Minister for Sport, Pavel Kolobkov had previously announced that he was examining the possibility of the Fan-ID being introduced for RPL matches, addressing a formal request for the system’s introduction to president Vladimir Putin on 20 July, with a view to “preserving the positive mood of millions of people who came to the World Cup.” In the past, officials have even considered banning the most passionate groups of supporters from sporting events altogether – in 2013, Vyacheslav Fetisov, the then Chairman of the Subcommittee of the Federation Council for Physical Activities & Sport claimed that banning such groups from attending would be “an effective measure in fighting hooliganism among supporters.”
Lokomotiv Moscow fan groups voiced their opposition to the idea in their 2nd match of the RPL season against city rivals Spartak at the Cherkizovo stadium on 4 August, with one banner stating “I don’t need a passport to be at home.” This came after their opponents of the day had been fined after a similar protest staged by Spartak fans during the first round of games on 28 July. In the game against Orenburg, fans held aloft slogans including “Ban ID,” “We don’t need a Fan ID” and “Fan ID = sitting at home.” A further second round match between Rostov and CSKA also saw anti-Fan-ID messages displayed.
Other than the fan actions, several people have raised concerns about the introduction of additional checks, with TV host Andrey Malosolov worrying that the increase in security surrounding games could lead to fans staying away, as a result of the process of attending becoming “exhausting.” Meanwhile, the leader of Spartak Moscow’s “Fratria” fan group, Alexander Konev, was highly critical of the prospect of additional bureaucracy being introduced for matchgoing fans, since nobody was being forced to attend the games in the first place, noting that after introduction of fan passport systems in Italy and Turkey “attendances fell sharply,” whereas demand for World Cup tickets was not harmed by the presence of a Fan-ID system, due to it being a particularly special case.
The head of the Union of Sports Fans, Vsevolod Alekseev also warned that any such scheme could backfire “given that the authorities would generally already prefer higher attendances“ at league matches, already suffering from the effects of apathy and economic downturn. Alekseev believed that, for a Fan-ID to be successful, the authorities should adopt a carrot, rather than a stick approach and offer some sort of benefit for registration to any such scheme, as with the World Cup visa waiver for Fan-ID holders. Otherwise, he said fans would see any attempt to introduce a league Fan-ID as “just another imposed system with non-transparent aims.”
Among concrete concerns regarding the introduction of the Fan-IDs was the authorities’ rejection of applications to obtain the documents during the World Cup for some individuals who had past convictions that had either expired or been overturned by courts. Konev expressed concern that “in Russia, only a court decision can result in a ban from sporting events, but a Fan-ID system allows the law enforcement agencies to become judge and jury themselves” and that the outcome of the system’s use during the World Cup was that “the majority of ordinary supporters” were unable to attend matches at the tournament. During the World Cup, some 500 people were denied Fan-IDs as a result of their past activities.
Director of Security & Fan Relations for the RPL, Alexander Meitin, tried to reassure fans by declaring that the aim of introducing the Fan-ID would be to make it “comfortable” for fans, and claiming that “all opinions would be considered.” He stressed the example of the previous controversy regarding the introduction of the fan “management and control” camera systems in Russian stadiums, saying “everybody was complaining then as well, but the system performs brilliantly”
https://rsport.ria.ru/football/20180804/1140076665.html
https://rostovgazeta.ru/news/sport/13-08-2018/rostovchane-vystupili-protiv-vvedeniya-fan-id-na-chempionate-rossii https://www.sports.ru/football/1065628473.html
https://www.championat.com/football/news-3500999-fanaty-spartaka-vystupili-protiv-vvedenija-fan-id-v-rpl.html https://rsport.ria.ru/football/20180807/1140172312.html
https://www.ridus.ru/news/281080
‘Goal-scoring’ supporter enlivens one-sided cup tie
Whether driven by boredom, frustration or a desire for glory, a young football fan was arrested after invading the pitch during a Russian Cup 3rd round match in Blagoveshchensk, taking the ball and firing it into the net. As a result of his ‘goal-scoring’ exploits, the 18-year-old was fined 3,000 rubles. The match between Blagoveshchensk and Sakhalin was won by the visitors 3-0.