Preparations for the final round of games in the Russian Premier League have been disrupted after a device similar to an anti-tank mine was found at FC Kuban’s ground but later discovered to be a smoke bomb, police said Saturday.
Dan Petrescu’s Kuban will host Dynamo Moscow at their stadium in Krasnodar on Sunday, with the visitors in with a chance of a place in next season’s Champions League if they win.
Krasnodar city police spokesman Ilya Shakalov had earlier said that two devices had been found resembling mines. Investigations have since found that there is just one smoke bomb, he told RIA Novosti.
“There’s one device. Under inspection it turned out to be a general-purpose smoke bomb,” Shakalov said.
Regional police spokesman Igor Zhelyabin said that police were now investigating who had brought the device into the stadium.
“It looks military, reminiscent of an anti-tank mine. It was found in the fan sector, probably someone brought it in yesterday. Now it is being established where it came from.”
Players across the Russian Premier League wore black armbands last week in memory of the victims of a double suicide bombing in the Anzhi team’s home city of Makhachkala that killed at least 13 people and wounded more than 100.
