Around the match of the 7th round of the RPL “Fakel” – “Spartak” a scandal broke out with discrimination

The central match of the 7th round of the RPL Fakel – Spartak is to be held in Voronezh on August 27, 2022. A few days before the kick-off whistle around the upcoming game, a loud scandal erupted.

It all started with the fact that the Fakel management decided to sell tickets through the box office of the Central Stadium of Trade Unions, which hosts the matches of the Voronezh team.

All tickets will be on sale ONLY at the box office of the Central Stadium of Trade Unions! Six ticket offices will be open for fans – two on the Central Stand (Studencheskaya St.) and four on the Eastern Stand (Friedrich Engels St.). The sale will be held in the mode “no more than two tickets in one hand. There will be no online sales for this match!” – read the official announcement on the club’s website. As noted in the media, such a decision was made, among other things, to fight ticket speculators, since the game with Spartak expectedly aroused great interest among Voronezh football fans.

“The site failed. Fans have applied more than once, and not two, and not three with a request to let the tickets go to the box office, ”Fakel’s press service told Match TV.

However, this initiative led to a real scandal. From the very morning, huge queues lined up at the ticket office of the stadium, in which people, judging by the comments on social networks, spent more than three hours. The situation was aggravated by the fact that these days in Voronezh the weather is hot.

“This is some kind of mockery! I’ve been standing here since 7 in the morning, almost at the beginning of the line. On the official website of Fakel they wrote that they would start selling tickets from 11 in the morning, but it’s already half past one – and we are still waiting. I really hope that Fakel will no longer present such surprises, ”said one of the RIA Novosti fans.

At some point, one of the cash registers closed, and a video appeared on the Telegram channels, in which the crowd breaks the shutters and tries to open the cash window on their own.

In addition to everything, Fakel announced on its social networks that the entrance to the stands of the stadium with the symbols of the rival club would be prohibited in accordance with the regulations.

Spartak immediately released its statement.

“We consider Fakel’s demand put forward in such a categorical form to be unlawful. We will send a corresponding letter to the League and the Voronezh club. Spartak has many fans in different cities of Russia, and the refusal to organize an outreach sector of active support does not mean that a person does not can buy a ticket for any other sector and come to the stadium in a red and white scarf.

Under the federal Spectator Conduct Rules, fans may bring personal items into the stadium that are not prohibited by these rules.

Based on the MIR RPL Regulations, paraphernalia (in particular, scarves) does not apply to support means, which means that it does not require coordination. There are illegal discriminatory demands,” the press service of the Red-Whites said.

The Premier League has responded just as quickly.

“Fakel’s decision not to allow entry to the stadium with the symbols of the rival club is contrary to the current rules and regulations. The indignation of the fans in this situation is understandable.

The League keeps the situation under control, we promptly contacted the club’s management, and Fakel’s general director Roman Askhabadze assured that there would be no restrictions regarding the use of the guest team’s symbols at the match,” said Alexander Alaev, the newly elected president of the RPL.

As a result, Fakel had to apologize and correct their messages.

“There will be no guest sector at the match with Spartak as such. And we made an incorrect wording – the means of active support were implied, and not paraphernalia. Therefore, there can be no talk that fans with Spartak symbols will not be allowed into the stadium in Voronezh. We apologize to the Spartak football club for the incorrect wording – all football fans are welcome in our city, ”the management of the Voronezh club said.

“If people with Spartak symbols come to the northern stand on Saturday, no one will give them nightmares,” added Roman Askhabadze, general director of Fakel, who previously worked in Spartak’s leadership, on his own behalf.

As for the sale of tickets through the ticket offices of stadiums and long queues, Fakel has not yet received any clarifications or comments on this topic.