MOSCOW, June 16 (RIA Novosti) - Russian Premier League authorities have no plans to look into claims that Saturday's match between Terek Grozny and Krilya Sovetov was fixed, the league's governing body told RIA Novosti on Tuesday.
Russian sports media reported before the game, which Terek won 3-2, that one individual staked $400,000 on a Terek win on the Betfair Internet betting exchange. Furthermore, some 96% of bets placed were on a Terek victory. Before the game, Terek were in 10th place and Krilya, from the Volga Area city of Samara, in 2nd.
After the news broke, a number of bookmakers stopped taking bets on Terek taking all three points and odds on a Terek victory dropped rapidly.
The match itself, which took place in Grozny, saw Terek storm into a two-goal lead before Krilya leveled the score. However, with just minutes on the clock, the Chechen side found the net for the third time. A number of Russian sports commentators noted both that the Krilya defense was oddly ineffective as Terek's Sergei Bendz rose to head home the winner and that the guests showed no real desire to score a third goal.
"There are no grounds on which to carry out an investigation into the match," Russian Football Premier League (RFPL) spokesman Igor Budnikov said. "Furthermore, the RFPL is not the organization to carry out an investigation, this should be done by special bodies. We are, of course, aware that after the game in Grozny there were lots of rumors, but so far there is no proof."
However, Vitali Mutko, the country's minister for sport and head of the Russian football's overall governing body was far less reserved.
"I saw the game, and I didn't like it at all," he said. "I feel ashamed for the Samara club."
The row looks unlikely to die down, with the head of the Samara branch of the Yabloko party, Igor Yermolyenko, writing to the prosecutor's office with a request to open an investigation into the game.
Both the Terek and Krilya managers have denied that the match was fixed.
"Was everything honest? Absolutely," Krilya manager Leonid Slutsky, a candidate to take over the Russian national side when Guus Hiddink eventually quits, was quoted as saying by sportbox.ru. "It was a real battle of a game and yes, we both made lots of mistakes."
Russian football has often been plagued by allegations of fixed matches, with Terek's 2004 Russian Cup final triumph over, ironically, Krilya Sovetov, alleged to have been bought for $6 million. The claims have not been proven, however.
The problem of fixed games is believed to be much more of a problem in the lower leagues of the Russian game.
When asked recently by the sports.ru website as to what percentage of teams were involved in fixed matches outside the Premier League, Andrei Panferov, a defender for Far East Russia side SKA-Energiya, said, "Believe me, a lot. Not just one or two sides."
"If you have money and I have none, and you give me a certain amount, then you will want something in exchange," said Panferov. "I'll take the money and do want you want. That's how it has always been, not only in football, but also in general in Russia."
In other matches at the weekend, leader Rubin lost 2-0 at home to Rostov, while FC Moskva beat CSKA Moscow 2-0 to go top. The league resumes on July 11 after the summer break.
Results - June 13-14
Rubin 0-2 Rostov
Spartak Moscow 1-0 Khimki
Dynamo Moscow 1-1 Kuban
Terek Grozny 3-2 Krilya Sovetov
Tom Tomsk 1-2 Amkar
FC Moskva 2-0 CSKA Moscow
Saturn 2-0 Lokomotiv Moscow
Spartak Nalchik 2-2 Zenit St. Petersburg
Table (12 games unless stated)
1. FC Moskva - 23
2. Rubin - 21 (11 games)
3. Spartak Moscow - 20
4. Krilya Sovetov - 20
5. Dynamo Moscow - 20
6. CSKA Moscow - 19 (11 games)
7. Zenit - 19
7. Spartak Moscow - 17
8. Rostov - 18
9. Lokomotiv Moscow - 16
10. Terek - 16
11. Kuban - 13
12. Saturn - 10
13. Tom Tomsk - 12
14. Amkar - 11
15. Spartak Nalchik - 8 (11 games)
16. Khimki - 4 (11 games)
