Spartak CEO Sergey Nekrasov said his side played well against Zenit but lost the Russian Super Cup on penalties after a 1–1 draw. He called the decision to skip a draw for the shootout goal unacceptable.
In an interview published by Sport-Express on October 9, Nekrasov said Spartak had performed at a high level for more than 90 minutes and had fallen short by about 30 seconds. He said the game plan had worked, making the defeat painful, but that he did not feel great bitterness about the football itself.
His main criticism was that officials did not draw lots to choose the goal before the penalty shootout. Nekrasov said the lack of a transparent explanation for the choice was unacceptable. He added that, in the immediate aftermath, he had been angered by certain refereeing decisions, including the goal selection.
The Spartak chief compared the episode with the club’s recent match against Dynamo. Even if Ivan Sorokin’s goal had stood rather than being ruled out for a slight offside and the score had become 2–2, he said, that game would still have raised questions. Nekrasov said his role was to calm the situation rather than heighten tensions around refereeing.
The Super Cup was played in Nizhny Novgorod on July 18. Christopher Martins scored in the 25th minute, and Alexander Sobolev equalised from the penalty spot in stoppage time. Regular time ended 1–1, and Zenit won the shootout 4–2.
The Russian Football Union explained the next day why there had been no draw. After bottles were thrown from the Spartak supporters’ stand, organizers considered it unsafe to hold the shootout at that goal. The referees received a recommendation from the stadium operations centre. The RFU said football rules allow the goal to be chosen on safety grounds.