The discontent of Spartak Moscow fans with the presence of Denis Glushakov in the team, who returned after the dismissal of head coach Massimo Carrera, reached a new level. The match of the fifth round of the Europa League with the Vienna "Rapid", in which the red and white were defeated with a score of 1: 2, was overshadowed by an unpleasant incident.
By the 70th minute, Oleg Kononov's charges led 1-0, but at the height of one of the game episodes, a fan of the hosts appeared on the field. Often the purpose of such provocations is a harmless desire to show off and get into the lenses of cameras. In this case, the trick of a young man named Miroslav Golunov had a different character. He purposely ran to the captain of “Spartacus” and tried to make a fight with him. Fortunately, the other players of the red-and-whites stood up to defend their teammate, and the matter did not come to a serious brawl.
At the same time, the provocateur himself explained that he was not going to attack the midfielder, but only wanted to talk to him.
“I ran to Glushakov without aggression. I just wanted to say that he has no place in Spartak. And he hit me in the chest. I did not understand what he said to me. The rest of the players appeared, they began to calm us down, ”his words“ Championship ”.
The security officers at the stadium quickly coped with the situation and took Golunov out of the field, where he was immediately detained by the police. Representatives of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation in Moscow reported that an administrative case was initiated against him under Part 3, Art. 20.31 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation (“Violation of the rules of spectator behavior during official sports competitions”). In addition, the offender will not be allowed to attend the matches of Spartak for an indefinite period.
Glushakov himself calmly reacted to the incident, but did not comment on the incident. In turn, the teammates defended their captain. So, striker Luiz Adriano criticized the fan, calling his behavior disrespect for the football player.
A few minutes after the incident, “Rapid” managed to recoup, and in the time compensated for the second half, it completely pulled out the victory. Some experts concluded that the cause of the defeat of “Spartacus” was precisely the antics of Golunov, and not the poor physical shape of the players.
The head coach of the red-and-white Oleg Kononov only partially agreed with this position, although he did not completely shift the blame for the unfortunate result to the actions of the fan.
“It was a provocation by this guy. Without a trace, it did not affect. We missed goals after the incident. But I liked the reaction of the players themselves. All, ”- said the coach at the post-match press conference.
However, the players themselves expressed a different opinion. So, according to defender Ilya Kutepov, the team first of all should work on their own mistakes, and not look for excuses for defeat.
“This trick had absolutely no effect on the result. We will not blame him, but this is an ugly act. I can't say anything more. This is a flash that should not have been. Two goals conceded have nothing to do with this fan, ”the football player is confident.
This position was expressed by midfielder Sofian Hanni. He called on fans of red and whites to abandon such provocations and support the team even in difficult situations.
“I did not like that the fan ran in the direction of Denis. The first thought of the team was to protect Glushakov. But this had no effect on the result, since we are professionals, this happens not for the first time and cannot affect us. And if this was a blow to Glushakov, it’s better to ask him himself, ”said Algerian.
What happened left a negative impression not only on the owners, but also on the Rapid players. The midfielder of the Vienna team Stefan Schwab supported his colleague on the role and expressed the hope that in a short time the relationship between him and the fans will improve.
“I heard the Spartak fans booing Glushakov during the announcement of the squad. When a fan ran onto the field, Adriano managed to push him away, so there was no danger. This is crazy, I have never seen such. In Austria, they also run out on the field, but no one tries to attack the players. I am not aware of the whole situation, but it is difficult for him. I wish everything changed in the future, ”the footballer said.
The story of the opposition between Glushakov and Spartak fans began in October of this year, when head coach Massimo Carrera was dismissed. According to the fans, the reason for the dismissal was Glushakov’s dissatisfaction with the work of a specialist, which he openly stated to the club management. Since that time, fans of red and whites insist on leaving the midfielder from the team.
“As for the promise of my race, I wanted Glushakov to understand more clearly that they didn’t want to see him in Spartak. He “merged” Massimo, and after all, Carrera led us to the championship. The midfielder now is not very good in life, the black stripe. I would take a vacation in his place, and did not fight for the captain's armband and other things, ”Golunov said.
On the eve of the match with “Rapid”, one of the fan associations of red-and-whites launched a flash mob on social networks. They called on all those dissatisfied with the presence of a football player in the team to upload photos with the hashtag # SpartakBezGlushakov. At the moment, the action has already been supported by several hundred people.
Nevertheless, despite the discontent of the fans, Kononov said that Glkshakov’s captain’s armband would remain because the provocations are irrelevant if he is trusted by the rest of the team’s players.