One of the most volatile fixtures in the Russian Premier League, Spartak Moscow hosting Lokomotiv Moscow on Sunday, will be played in a closed Lokomotiv Stadium. The clubs share the ground until Otkrytie Arena is ready next year.
Spartak will also play a subsequent league match against Zenit St. Petersburg behind closed doors, as punishment for fan violence at a Russian Cup match at Shinnik Yaroslavl on Wednesday. Fans threw lit flares and torn-out stadium seats onto the field and fought with riot police, as well as displaying Nazi swastikas on flags in the crowd.
“For the use of fireworks by spectators, the audience throwing fireworks, for the unrest in the stadium and the public display of Nazi symbols in the audience,” the official RFU statement reads, “FC Spartak Moscow is fined 600,000 rubles [about $18,500] and is obliged to hold two of the next home games under the auspices of the RFU without spectators.”
Shinnik Yaroslavl was fined 500,000 rubles — about $15,500 — and mandated to play three home games behind closed doors “for the use of fireworks by spectators, the audience throwing fireworks, for the unrest the stadium and the failure to maintain public order and security at the stadium.”
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Spartak appealed the Russian Football Union punishment, likely in the hope that a final decision could not be made until after the derby on Sunday, allowing fans to attend. However, the appeal was rejected early on Saturday.
The club said in a press release that, despite having sold out the stadium for the match, the RFU would not suspend the punishment until after the weekend. The game will likely have an impact on the Russian Premier League title race, as the teams are tied at the top of the table — in second, underneath Zenit — on 30 points from 14 matches.
“The Appeals Committee of the RFU, alas, would not grant our petition,” the Spartak release read. “As a result, innocent fans suffered because of some provocateurs and thugs who rioted in Yaroslavl.”
