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CSKA Fans Call for Boycott of Russian Cup Final in Grozny

CSKA Moscow fans have called for a boycott of next month's Russian Cup final between their team and Anzhi Makhachkala because it will be played in the Chechen capital Grozny.

The fans have been angry at the Russian Football Union's (RFU) decision to stage the June 1 final in the volatile North Caucasus region.

"We're calling on all our supporters to refrain from going to Grozny. Let others follow [RFU] orders and do what they're told — not us," the CSKA fan club said in a statement posted on its official website.

"Idiots in the RFU had made a decision to hold the Cup final in a city where local referees and security officials beat up players from visiting teams and the region's head makes public insults and then boasts about it social media."

Last month, Chechnya's strongman leader Ramzan Kadyrov, who serves as honorary president for local side Terek Grozny, insulted referee Mikhail Vilkov over a loudspeaker, calling him a "donkey" after he red-carded his team's captain.

Later that month, Chechen linesman Musa Kadyrov was banned for life for assaulting a visiting player in a reserve game in Grozny when he dropped his flag and ran on to the pitch, attacking startled defender Ilya Krichmar.

"By boycotting the final we want to express our outrage by the stupid decision of the RFU, totally ignoring the fans' opinion," the statement said. "We're still asking all our followers to boycott all the away games played in the Caucasus."

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