Romanov faces domestic and European investigation

'I want to openly call it an agreement against fair football in Scotland'

Les Roopanarine and agencies
Thursday September 14, 2006
Guardian Unlimited

Hearts chairman Vladimir Romanov will be investigated by the Scottish Football Association and Uefa after launching a scathing attack on domestic and European refereeing standards.

In a statement on the club's official website, Romanov claimed that Hearts won last year's Scottish Cup "despite all the referees' efforts and intrigues."

He also rounded on Yuri Baskakov, the Russian referee who presided over the Edinburgh club's 3-0 defeat to AEK Athens in a recent Champions League qualifier, a result that sealed their 5-1 aggregate loss. "The referee told us openly that we didn't pay him for some game in Liepaja, so therefore he would bury us now," said the Lithuanian. "I do not understand how a referee that was recently suspended by the Russian Football Federation was appointed ... I wonder who helped him."

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In response, a Uefa spokesman said: "We've taken a note of Mr Romanov's comments and we will look at them. We have had such cases before but every case is different so you can't compare any two. There are a whole range of sanctions we can take, such as a warning, a censure, a fine or a suspension. However, as it stands, there is no case and it is not up to us to speculate. But we will be looking at his comments, although I cannot say when they will be addressed."

An SFA spokesman has confirmed that Romanov's attack on domestic officials will be examined by its general purposes committee on October 24.

Romanov was also critical of the national media, branding the press "the football mafia" and complaining of "agitation if not hysterics and verbal diarrhoea before each game." He added: "I want to openly call it an agreement against fair football in Scotland."

Taken from the Guardian/Observer