Author: Gia Saradidze, exclusively to VK
During a match of the 16th round of Russian Football Championship between Dynamo FC (Moscow) and Zenit FC (Saint Petersburg) on the banks of the Neva the fans began throwing firecrackers onto the pitch. In the 36th minute, one of the shells fell close to the goalkeeper of Dynamo FC, Anton Shunin. The goalkeeper of the Moscow club approached the firecracker and kicked it with his foot; it immediately exploded. After the explosion, Anton fell on the lawn and covered his face with both hands. After this episode, the referee Aleksey Nikolaev interrupted the game with the score 1-0 in favour of the home team, and then led both teams to the locker room. Soon after that it was announced that the match would not continue.
Dynamo FC goalkeeper Anton Shunin, next to whom the firecracker thrown by fans of Zenit FC exploded, underwent a medical examination in “Arena Khimki" during the match of the 16th round of the Russian Championship. According to the reporter of Sportbox.ru, Mikhail Fridman, Shunin was blinded after the explosion, and soon the club's medical staff will be able to deliver a more accurate diagnosis to the 25-year goalkeeper. Most likely, Zenit FC will have to pay a heavy fine for the behaviour of its fans and to "put up" with a forfeit loss, which will be imposed on it in all probability.
By the way, even before the game the fans of Zenit FC were behaving aggressively. A group of fans from St. Petersburg consisting of approximately 30 people attacked two fans of Dynamo FC in an underpass at Khimki station. Following this incident, the underpass exit from the station was occupied by special police forces, and the situation briefly returned to normal.
In last season's Champions League, fans of Zenit FC almost broke up the game. Referee Felix Brych twice interrupted the match between Zenit FC and APOEL Nicosia at the Petrovsky stadium. During the match, fans of Zenit FC lit fireworks in the middle of the first half, causing the referee to stop the game and then to add four minutes to the start time of 45 minutes.
The second time, the fireworks were lit in the second half. After that, the referee decided to withdraw the teams from the field.
The midfielder of Zenit FC, Roman Shirokov, came up to the sections where the fireworks had been lit, and talked harshly to the fans. He was followed by the manager of the blue-white-blue team Luciano Spalletti. After 10 minutes, the match was restarted. It was announced that the match would be stopped if the fans repeatedly used pyrotechnics.
In the last season, Zenit FC was credited with a forfeit loss (0-3) in the match against CSKA Moscow which took place on April 10, 2011 in the fourth round of the Russian Football Championship. The decision was taken by the Control and Disciplinary Committee of the Russian Football Union. Zenit FC also paid a fine of 200 thousand rubles. In the match with CSKA Moscow the Petersburg club violated the rules of the Russian Premier League: Zenit FC did not include in the application any "home-grown" players - Russians born in 1990 or later.
