Russian referee: Result of the match between Neftchi and Armenian team agreed in advance

Baku. 31 October. REPORT.AZ/ Former Russian football referee Igor Rutskoy announced that  the result of the match between Azerbaijan's Neftchi and Armenia's Kotayk held 29 years ago in the USSR championship was agreed in advance.

Report informs that 61-year-old former justice lawmaker told in his interview to BelPressa that he was instructed to attain a draw in the match which took place on May 6, 1989 in the neutral area. According to him, that meeting was held under the control of law enforcement agencies without support of fans. “I was appointed assistant chief referee of Kotayk (Abovyan) - Neftchi (Baku) match in 1989-1990 during the war in Karabakh. I receive a call saying: "The match will be held in Metallurg Stadium in Zaporozhye city of Ukraine, since Neftchi would not fly to Armenia due to the war. This was not a fixed match. However, according to the order that came from the leadership, the match should result in a draw. There were horse-drawn policemen and internal troops at the stadium and the surrounding area was blocked. As a result, the referee whistled four times: at the start of the match, at the end of the first half, at the beginning of the second half and final whistle. "

According to Rutskoy, the second match between these teams was held in Novorossiysk city, Russia and resulted in a 1:1 draw: "They scored a goal in order not to be ridiculous, not to irritate FIFA and UEFA. Only after many years I knew that the candidates for conducting this game were discussed at the Central Committee, and only the Russian referees were appointed to oversee the match. "