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Kadyrov Bestows 'Golden Boots' on 2 Terek Grozny Footballers

Ramzan Kadyrov is Terek Grozny's honorary president.

Ramzan Kadyrov presented two players from Chechen football club Terek Grozny with what appeared to be gold-studded boots following the team's 1-0 victory against Dynamo Moscow on Sunday, according to a post on the Chechen leader's Instagram page.

The Golden Boot is the name of the prize that UEFA annually hands out to the top scorer in Europe, but Kadyrov evidently had other reasons for rewarding defender Rizvan Utsiyev, who did not score, and his 20-year-old nephew Khalid Kadyrov, who was an unused substitute against Dynamo.

Kadyrov, Terek Grozny's honorary president, has frequently gotten involved in football in the southern Russian republic.

In 2011 he set up a match in Grozny between an all-star Brazilian side that included 1994 World Cup winning captain Dunga and a team that Kadyrov himself captained.

Last year Kadyrov used the address system at Terek's stadium to yell "The referee's been bought off" and curse the official after Utsiyev was sent off in a game against Rubin Kazan.

While Kadyrov's antics and Instagram account continue to amuse many of his Internet followers, Chechnya remains troubled by violence and the totalitarian nature of its leadership.

Hugh Williamson, Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch, recently commented on the arrest and beating of an independent Chechen activist by saying, "The climate of fear is so intense that very few people dare criticize Kadyrov's policies in any area."

See also:

Chechen Leader Kadyrov Offers New Home to 2nd Giraffe Marked for Death in Denmark

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