Kadyrov Fumes at ‘Bought’ Referee After Terek Draw

MOSCOW, March 17 (R-Sport) – The leader of Russia’s southern province of Chechnya has launched a scathing attack on the referee in Sunday’s 0-0 draw between his side Terek Grozny and visitors Rubin Kazan.

Ramzan Kadyrov is the Kremlin-installed leader of the formerly war-torn region and also the president of Terek Grozny football club.

He attends most home games and is known to regularly enter the dressing room to give pep talks and prize money to the players.

Terek dominated Sunday’s game with Rubin but couldn’t turn the pressure into goals. They were hampered by the 83rd-minute dismissal of defender Rizvan Utsiev.

“The game was just awful because of the biased referee,” Kadyrov wrote on his Instagram page. “The groundless second yellow card for Utsiev, the penalty that wasn’t given – he did everything to change the course of the game.”

Brazilian forward Ailton fell in the box in the first half but no penalty was given by referee Mikhail Vilkov.

“I will make sure there is a thorough investigation of the referee’s actions,” Kadyrov wrote, adding he apologized to the players for stern language after the game.

“But I won’t apologize to the referee: He deserves the tag ‘bought,'” Kadyrov added. “This is not the first time. Let everyone know that Terek are for honest, not corrupt football.”

Vilkov is a relatively young referee at 33 with nearly three years of experience in the Russian top flight.

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