Posted on March 6, 2010 - by Venik
FC Moscow go out of business after owners pull plug on funding
Fans go on hunger strike in protest as Russian club drops out of the Premier League after Norilsk Nickel withdraws its backing
Chelsea, be warned: some Russian sugar daddies turn off the tap. Russian Premier League side FC Moscow have ceased to exist after their owners, metal giants Norilsk Nickel, stopped funding them.
Eleven fans went on a hunger strike in an attempt to get the club back into the league, but gave up after five days when the head of the Russian FA visited them to say there was no chance of a return. He did promise that the club would retain their professional status, though that seems unlikely. The few players left at the club had their last training session last week and, reports Moscow Times, staff have been told they will not even play in the second division this year.
Moscow used to be backed lavishly by Nickel when Mikhail Prokhorov, the sports-loving oligarch who is in the process of buying NBA side the New Jersey Nets, was in charge of the company. He sold out in 2007 and Nickel has since been badly hit by the financial crisis.
Nothing is ever simple in Russian football and the decision is seen by some as part of a conspiracy to promote Alania Vladikavkaz, champions in 1995, to the Premier League. Alania are from the troubled Caucasus region, plagued by extremist violence and poverty. Alexander Khloponin, a former Norilsk Nickel chairman, has just been made the government’s envoy to the region and the club’s promotion will help bolster his position.
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