Support The Moscow Times!

World Cup Host Russia to Consider Firing Coach Capello

Russia's coach Fabio Capello watches his team's Euro 2016 Group G qualifying soccer match against Austria at the Otkrytie Arena stadium in Moscow, Russia, June 14, 2015.

Russia’s football bosses are considering whether to fire national coach Fabio Capello after a loss to Austria seriously dented the team’s hopes of qualifying for Euro 2016.

After Sunday’s 1-0 home defeat to Austria left Russia third in its Euro 2016 qualifying group, Russian Football Union acting president Nikita Simonyan told the R-Sport agency the body “will discuss” whether to remove Capello.

Italian-born Capello has coached Russia since 2012 and was handed a four-year contract extension last year to lead Russia through to its home World Cup in 2018, but recent results have been poor.

Russia won just two of its last 10 competitive games, with one win coming against tiny Liechtenstein and the other awarded by default when a match against Montenegro was abandoned due to crowd trouble.

Russian football has been marked by controversy in recent weeks as the corruption scandal unfolding around FIFA has put Russia's status as host of the 2018 World Cup in jeopardy.

Switzerland's federal prosecutor will make a statement about his criminal investigation of FIFA's 2018 and 2022 World Cup bid contests for the first time Wednesday at a news conference in Bern.

Attorney General Michael Lauber's department raided FIFA headquarters to seize evidence on May 27.

On the same day, Swiss authorities raided a Zurich hotel and arrested seven officials linked to FIFA for a separate United States federal investigation of bribery and racketeering.

The Swiss case is targeting possible criminal mismanagement and money laundering in bidding campaigns won by Russia and Qatar, respectively.

Sign up for our free weekly newsletter

Our weekly newsletter contains a hand-picked selection of news, features, analysiss and more from The Moscow Times. You will receive it in your mailbox every Friday. Never miss the latest news from Russia. Preview
Subscribers agree to the Privacy Policy

A Message from The Moscow Times:

Dear readers,

We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."

These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.

We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.

Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.

By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.

Once
Monthly
Annual
Continue
paiment methods
Not ready to support today?
Remind me later.

Read more