MOSCOW, April 4 (R-Sport) - A friendly football match pitting Spartak Moscow against Dynamo Kiev to open the Russians' new stadium has been canceled because of the political crisis gripping Ukraine, both clubs said Friday.
Spartak owner Leonid Fedun insisted last month that the game at the newly built Otkritie Arena, planned for July 24, would still go ahead despite a souring of relations between Moscow and Kiev since the ouster of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych.
But on Friday the clubs revealed it would not.
"Dynamo Kiev football club has officially rejected the invitation," the Ukrainian club said in a website statement. "The rejection of previously agreed settlements between the clubs has been caused by the current state of political relations between Ukraine and Russia, under which FC Dynamo Kiev considers traveling to Moscow for the match to be inappropriate."
Unlike Dynamo, Spartak said the decision to cancel was mutual.
"After an official approach to our club from Dynamo Kiev, the sides took a joint decision to cancel the exhibition match due to force majeure circumstances," Spartak said on its website.
"Whom Spartak will play against in the first match at the Otkritie Arena will be announced soon."
In February a Dynamo fan club appealed to the team's management to cancel the game, fearing "provocations" if it went ahead. Dynamo president Igor Surkis suggested it would be inappropriate for the fixture to take place.
Spartak and Dynamo agreed early February to revive their old Soviet rivalry in a game to open the 44,000-seater stadium, but that was before the crisis between Russia and Ukraine deepened, culminating in the former Ukrainian region of Crimea joining Russia.
UPDATES with Dynamo Kiev comment, edits throughout
