Rostov had a crazy week that began with a historic defeat and ended with a change in Russian football.
Last week, the Muzhiki were in a bizarre situation. Six players were found positive for coronavirus, which led the whole senior team to enter quarantine. The Russian FA, in a controversial decision, refused to delay their match against Sochi, and therefore they fielded a squad of players aged 16-19. An unfair situation to say the least, as Rostov are in a midst of a battle for a European spot, and Sochi fight to avoid relegation.
In the beginning, there was some hope that the youngsters will surprise when Roman Romanov scored in the first minute. Unfortunately, Rostov's youth couldn't handle Sochi, as they were 4-1 down at half time, and the final score was 10-1. This result was the first-ever double-digit score in the history of the Russian Premier League. Rostov’s goalkeeper, Denis Popov, was selected as the man of the match, as he recorded 15 saves in the match.
The refusal to postpone the match was criticized. Two days later, the Russian FA decided to cancel the game between Dinamo Moscow and Krasnodar, after three Dinamo players were tested positive. This weekend, Orenburg joined the list with detected cases, and their match was also canceled.
This week, Rostov's senior squad quarantine has ended. The six positive players were still in isolation, as the team went prepared for their next matches. Behind the scenes, everything was much more complicated. "I don't know who could play tomorrow," said Rostov manager, Valeri Karpin. The legendary national team player already criticized this week the FA decision to postpone other games. "I can't understand why these matches were delayed due to force majeure," he wondered on his Instagram.
Not only Karpin and Rostov had problems before the match. Their rivals, Arsenal Tula, had to get a special permission to allow them to travel to Rostov and play. Arsenal players waited until yesterday when the regional medical officer in Tula allowed them to play. The Russian bureaucracy worked hard this week to avoid another farce like they had last week.
Without any of the players that took part in the last match, Rostov played their home match against Arsenal Tula. A few fans were allowed to enter the stadium with a limit of 10% capacity and while keeping social distancing. It felt that every single moment from the last week should be considered as a bad memory.
It didn't take a long time until Rostov began their show. In the 2nd minute, Pavel Mamaev scored the first. Aleksey Ionov found the net in the 18th minute and doubled the score. Eventually the game finished 2-1 for the hosts. Rostov aims for a place in the Champions League qualifying rounds, and are back in winning ways.
Six matches remain until the end of the season. Rostov’s crazy week forced the decision-makers in Russia to look for new solutions. The coronavirus crisis in Russia is still ongoing, and the FA must have better options for the clubs rather than forcing them to field their youth team.
Thumbnail photo by Rostov official Twitter
