Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov on Tuesday fired Ruud Gullit as coach of the Terek Grozny football club after a poor start to the Premier League season, with only three wins in 13 games.
The Dutch former World Player of the Year was hired in the January off-season on a big-money 18-month contract and tasked with qualifying for European competition in his first season.
"Gullit won't coach Terek anymore," said Kadyrov, the club's president, Interfax reported.
The club said in a statement that it had grown weary of his lifestyle of "bars and discos" and that "Terek has never looked so hopeless." Kadyrov earlier issued the ultimatum of beating Amkar Perm on Tuesday or losing his job.
Amkar won 1-0 after an own goal in injury time.
Tom Sauer, Gullit's interpreter since his start in January, said the situation was "very sad."
"It was a fair game, and I feel for the players. They are all very upset after we had such very good team spirit," he said by telephone from Perm.
He said Gullit was heading to Grozny to officially receive his severance contract Wednesday. He would not comment on what financial compensation the Dutch coach would get.
(AP, MT)
