England

Spartak Moscow - Zenit St. Petersburg Game Marred By Crowd Violence

Around 700 fans were arrested at the Luzhniki Stadium on Sunday afternoon as the opening day of the Russian league season had a chaotic start...

Mar 16, 2009 9:55:15 AM

Greek Super League: Larissa - Panathinaikos / hooligan fights during the game (INTIME)

Photo Gallery

Zoom

Greek Super League: Larissa - Panathinaikos / hooligan fights during the game (INTIME)

Teams

According to a report on the BBC website, almost 700 supporters were arrested by Russian police during the game between Spartak Moscow and Zenit St. Petersburg on Sunday.

It is thought that the opening day match of the 2009 Russian Premier League season had attracted approximately 52,000 fans to the Luzhniki Stadium.

Apparently, fireworks and smoke cartridges were used as tempers flared in the Russian capital, despite there being a 3,000 strong police presence.

Of those detained by the authorities, it is claimed that at least 500 were Zenit St. Petersburg followers who had been throwing seats at the home crowd.

The game finished 1-1, with Zenit's Pavel Pogrebnyak, a Premier League target, cancelling out Ivan Saenko's second minute opener for Spartak.

The news is not good at all for Russian football, with matches now being aired in the USA and Canada to help raise the profile of the league.

Ricky Brooks, Goal.com