Friday, October 03, 2008

Zenit deny UEFA Cup semi-final fixing claim

Zenit St Petersburg manager Dick Advocaat has joined his club in expressing his dismay at allegations that the Russian club won the UEFA Cup by virtue of match-fixing.

Spanish newspaper El Pais claimed a judge had forwarded information to German prosecutors which claimed a gang with links to the Russian mafia had given money to Bayern Munich before their semi-final earlier this year.

Zenit beat the Bundesliga outfit 4-0 in the second leg of their semi-final, before getting past Rangers in the final to lift the UEFA Cup.

With Bayern also denying the allegations, the Russian club have threatened legal action.

In a statement on their official website, they said last: "In a selection of the media, news has popped up which refers to different Spanish sources, and directly affects FC Zenit's reputation.

"The quality of play shown by FC Zenit in the games against Rangers FC and Bayern Munich is the best proof that the victories were earned by Zenit in honest and non-compromising challenges."

"Allegations of deals mentioned in the media are offensive to all parties mentioned.

Comments: Post a Comment



<< Home

This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?