Football: Referee stops Russian league match

Russian Premier League match was abandoned yesterday after fans threw firecrackers onto the pitch.

MOSCOW: A Russian Premier League match between Dynamo Moscow and champions Zenit St Petersburg was abandoned yesterday after fans threw firecrackers onto the pitch, injuring Dynamo goal-keeper Anton Shunin. Late in the first half with Dynamo leading 1-0, the referee stopped the match after one of the missiles, thrown by the Zenit supporters, landed near Shunin, injuring his eye. The fans had been angry with some of Dynamo’s foreign players, warning them to boost their performances or pay the consequences. It was far from ideal preparation for Russian champions Zenit, who host Spanish side Malaga in the Champions League Group C match on Wednesday.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 18^th, 2012.