Russia wants all three points from Montenegro after their Euro 2016 Group G qualifier was abandoned Friday.
Goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev was one of two Russian players to be hit by fan-thrown objects, struck in the head by a fan-thrown flare and taken to the hospital shortly after kickoff, and tempers boiled over between the two sides after the second event.
Akinfeev suffered minor burns, a neck injury and a concussion, but released a statement saying he feels fine.
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When Roman Shirokov missed a first-half penalty -- on a light note, the misses were poor enough to deserve their own post -- both sides gathered near the touch line in a contentious display, one that caused referee Deniz Aytekin to cancel the match.
And Russia wants all three points, going as far as to say the match should’ve been canceled when Akinfeev was hit.
From the Associated Press:Russian Football Union president Nikolai Tolstykh said in a statement that his organization would file a protest to UEFA and that “in our view, it should be a technical defeat for Montenegro.”
He added that the match should have been abandoned following the attack on Akinfeev, but that UEFA match delegate Barry Bright overruled Russia’s objections.
“The Russian national team was forced to continue the game, but I want to emphasize that we warned the delegate and UEFA that we would submit a protest,” Tolstykh said.
Here’s the scary-looking flare incident:
And the penalty miss and subsequent altercation(s):
Considering the repercussions after a brawl between Serbia and Albania in Group I earlier this year, precedent says Russia could see a win but be docked points for its role in the fighting. After Serbian players ripped down a drone-flown pro-Albanian flag, players clashed on the pitch and saw the match abandoned and fan fighting in the stands.
Given UEFA president Michel Platini’s concerned words and warning about fan violence just this week, could he do something even more harsh?
Russia is third in the group with five points, ahead of Montenegro on goal differential. A win would put the Russians three points back of No. 2 Sweden. Austria leads the group with 13 points.
