After failing to meet an official deadline to pay its outstanding debt to national team coach Fabio Capello, the Russian Football Union (RFU) faces a slew of legal consequences, R-Sport reported Monday.
Russia's Federal Labour and Employment Service had set a Jan. 19 deadline for the RFU to pay Capello and other staff members of Russia's national football team, who have reportedly not been compensated since Russia flamed out of last summer's World Cup in Brazil without winning a single match.
The RFU now faces a fine, and some of its representatives could be forced to relinquish their positions, R-Sport reported. RFU officials forced to leave their positions could also be prevented from holding similar jobs within the union or with other organizations for a period of up to three years.
Russian media outlets have speculated that RFU president Nikolai Tolstykh could lose his job over the fiasco. In December, Tolstykh was fined an undisclosed amount of between 3,000 and 5,000 rubles ($46 to $77) by the Federal Labour and Employment Service for withholding his employees' salaries.
Observers have speculated that the RFU's poor treatment of Capello, who was lambasted for Russia's poor performance at the World Cup, would force him to resign, saving the hefty financial penalty the union would have to pay to him if it decided fire him.
Capello told The Moscow Times last month that he had no intention of resigning. He said he would remain in his position out of "respect" for Russia. The Italian coach, who joined joined the Russian squad in 2012, was reportedly the highest-paid coach at the World Cup in Brazil, with an annual salary of $11,235,210, according to Forbes.
