FC Spartak Moscow

Russian club Spartak Moscow tweeted a video accompanied by a racist reference to their own players on Saturday.

The club uploaded a video of four of their players in training, three of whom are black:

Смотрите, как шоколадки тают на солнце ☀️ #Джикия #Дубай #сбор #спартаквОАЭ #краснобелые #Спартак pic.twitter.com/EUvYRp0H8T

— FC Spartak Moscow (@fcsm_official) January 13, 2018

According to BBC Sport, the text accompanying the video translated as, "See how the chocolates melt in the sun."

Several hours later, Spartak tweeted another video, which Russian football expert Artur Petrosyan translated:

Piara Powar, head of anti-discriminatory group Fare, said:

"Racism is one of the biggest issues Russia faces in the year they host the World Cup. References like this show how some minorities are seen by some in the country.

"For Russia's biggest club to tolerate and then celebrate racist references of this kind is wrong.

"They were sanctioned for Islamophobic chanting recently, but clearly the message has not reached the players or the club management."

The Kick It Out campaign also reacted to the post:

Spartak were sanctioned by UEFA earlier this season after their supporters racially abused Liverpool forward Bobby Adekanye during the Reds' UEFA Youth League match in September.

In the return fixture at Prenton Park, Spartak defender Leonid Mironov allegedly abused Rhian Brewster and has also been charged by UEFA.

According to the Guardian's Alec Luhn, there were over 150 reports involving racism between 2012 and 2014 alone.

BR Video

Take a bow, Denis Glushakov.

The 29-year-old midfielder broke the deadlock at the perfect moment for Spartak Moscow at the weekend, unleashing a rocket from outside the box in injury time to claim victory for his side against Amkar Perm.

The win helped Spartak maintain their place at the top of the Russian Premier League, with manager Massimo Carrera's side now three points clear of second-placed Zenit St Petersburg.

102-летний болельщик московского *Спартака* Отто Фишер. pic.twitter.com/BZeBsqDtDF

— Григорий Дроздов (@DrozdovGrigoriy) March 22, 2015

Spartak Moscow have come to the aid of an 102-year-old in his hour of need, raising around $8,000 when his life savings were stolen from him.

Otto Fischer had come to prominence when he attended a derby game against Dynamo, which was made more remarkable by the fact he lives 1,500 kilometres away from the capital.

The money was stolen from his home, but the club's fan groups sprang into action to raise awareness of his plight.

Players and fans have contributed, while Russian television network RT adds that a percentage of the club's next home gate will go to him as well.

The money raised so far was presented to him by Spartak Moscow player Vyacheslav Krotov on a television show:

С Отто Константиновичем, очень крутой мужик,пожелал больших побед ! Сказал по возможности будет приезжать на матчи ! pic.twitter.com/0LCRgwkjav

— Slava Krotov (@SlavaKrotov) March 26, 2015

Fischer is quoted as saying: 

“I am very glad to get this help. I bow my head to everyone who helped me in this situation. If I get another opportunity to see another game, I certainly will with great pleasure. We have a saying: 'It is better to see something once than to hear about it one hundred times.'”

Spartak are currently sixth in the Russian Premier League table.

[RT]

The FC Barcelona squad have arrived in Russia for their next Group G UEFA Champions League match against Spartak Moscow. According to the Barca website, they will train Monday before facing the Russians Tuesday.

Tito Vilanova, the La Blaugrana manager, and Cesc Fabregas will hold a press conference for their team. Umai Emery, the Spanish-born Spartak Moscow manager, will do the same for the Russians.

What is at stake in this match and who will prevail? The answer is based on the preview and prediction of this vital match for both teams. 

Spartak Moscow

The Russians are currently in last place in the Group G UCL table. The list of players that are injured will not help their cause in this match.

Midfielder Diniyar Bilyaletdinov is expected to be out due to an abdominal injury requiring surgery. The Bilyaletdinov injury was reported on the UEFA webpage.

Bilyaletdinov's expected recovery will last during the rest of Spartak Moscow's UCL group matches. According to The Himalayan Times with a h/t to Reuters, Sergei Pesyakov, Artem Dzyuba, Artem Rebrov and Andriy Dykan are on the injured list.

Dykan and Rebrov suffered a shoulder injury. Pesyakov has a foot fracture and Dzyuba a hamstring injury.

The list of injuries continues with Romulo, Aiden McGeady, Sergei Parshivlyuk and Welliton. The Russians won only one of their matches (against Benfica last October) during the current UCL season.

Regardless of their current state, Spartak Moscow should not be underestimated. They almost defeated Barca when the two met at Camp Nou last September.

FC Barcelona

FC Barcelona is currently in first place in the Group G UCL matches. They barely defeated Spartak Moscow, 3-2, and lost to Celtic the second time.

La Blaugrana left Benfica scoreless and are secured a place in the UCL with this victory. Alexis Sanchez and Marc Bartra will not participate because of injury.

Bartta, a defender, has an injury to the adductor muscle. Sanchez has an ankle ligament that was damaged during a match for the Chilean national team.

It is hoped that La Blaugrana learned a lesson from its last match against Celtic. Barca had possession but underestimated the opponent and gave Celtic a victory.

Prediction

The match between Spartak Moscow and FC Barcelona is expected to be an intense match. The two teams will score and not allow concessions to each other.

La Blaugrana is expected to prevail in this match after facing resistance from Spartak Moscow and their supporters. The score is expected to be the following.

Spartak Moscow 3-4 FC Barcelona

Confusion, it seems, isn't lost in translation.

Today's video shows us exactly that, with a convenient object lesson. Go ahead and watch it, even if you don't speak Russian (I don't, but I have a buddy in the Peace Corps who might be able to help me out).

What you're seeing is Spartak Moscow forward Emmanuel Emenike scoring a goal against Russian champions Zenit St. Petersburg over the weekend.

And after that, what you're seeing is Spartak Moscow forward Emmanuel Emenike being sent off for celebrating that goal.

No yellow card. No warning. No stern talking-to from the referee.

Just a straight red card.

Why?

Well, there's a history here, it seems. From RIA Novosti (h/t Who Ate All The Pies):

Emenike was fined $17,000 for showing the middle finger to Dynamo Moscow fans during Spartak's 3-1 league victory in March. He claimed the fans had directed racist chants at him.

That makes sense. Still, that doesn't mean Emenike was doing anything wrong by slapping his forearm.

Did the ref think he was showing up Zenit? Making a drug reference?

No one seems to know, but Spartak are—not surprisingly—planning to appeal the decision. Spartak assistant coach Andrei Tikhonov said, via RIA Novosti:

The referee didn’t understand the incident with Emenike’s goal. Emenike was just clapping, just applauding.

We’ve got a crucial game with Lokomotiv coming up and we’ve lost our main striker. We’ll submit an appeal against this decision.

The lesson is clear, kids. Don't celebrate your goals, or you'll get a straight red card for your trouble.

Follow @MikeCummings37

Andrey Dikan (Spartak Moscow Goalkeeper) was assaulted with a laser pen during a weekend match between his team and Dynamo Moscow. The news was reported in Sovetsky Sport Newspaper and published in RT.

Dikan states that he was assaulted four times with the laser pen during the match by hooligans. Dikan condemned the assault in Russia and admitted to have been a victim (of laser pens) in Slovakia.

According to RT, laser pens have been used against pilots although this is the first incident within the Russian Premier League. The Russian Government has decided to take steps to make assaults with laser pens a criminal offense.

While people comment about laser pens, they can be very dangerous. According to an article published in BBC News, laser pens or pointers have been associated with damage to areas of the eyes such as the retina.

The hooligans who have assaulted Dikan with a laser pen should be given a 10 year prison sentence with a fine of six figures. They should also be expelled permanently from any matches.

The reason is the danger that laser pens and pointers pose to the eyes of the recipient. The damage could even be a permanent one even if the assault lasted a few minutes.

It is hoped that the Russian Premier League and FIFA take a look at laser pens and pointers with the intention of banning them

On Sunday, Spartak Moscow got back to their winning ways by beating rivals Lokomotiv by a score of 3-2.

All of Spartak's goals came from Brazilian forward Welliton, who now finds himself tied for most in the Russian Premier League. The 23-year-old striker opened the scoring for the away side finding a cross from fellow countrymen Alex in the 18th minute.

Lokomotiv would respond two minutes later with a set-piece goal by Aleksandr Aliev who would beat keeper Sergei Pesyakov who timed the strike terribly.

Welliton would grab his second of the game with help from another fellow countrymen (Ibson) who would connect on a perfectly timed run, to the dismay of Lokomotiv's defense and goalkeeper Guilherme Marinato.

Welliton would cap off his second career hat-trick in the 66th minute finding the end of a Nikita Bazhenov cross to tap in his third goal. Lokomotiv would come within one but Spartak held on and leapfrogged their rivals to sixth place.

With the acquisition of twins Dmitri and Kirill Kombarov from Dynamo Moscow and the signing of Aiden McGeady of Celtic, Spartak will look to climb the table, after a up and down season, with the UEFA Champions League Group Stages just around the corner.

Spartak will face Tomsk next week where McGeady will possibly feature in his first match with his new club after agreeing to a deal worth $14 million over four-years.

Much is expected from the most expensive transfer in Scottish Football history and hopefully the Spartak brass choose wisely when courting the 24-year-old.