Football: Russian Team Names New Coach After Match-fixing Suspicions

Football: Russian team names new coach after match-fixing suspicions

MOSCOW, , (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 03rd Nov, 2016 ) - Russian top-flight club Ural Yekaterinburg on Thursday appointed a new coach days after his predecessor resigned over match-fixing suspicions.

Alexander Tarkhanov, 62, returns to Ural, who he managed from 2013 to 2015, after a year spent coaching Bulgaria's Slavia Sofia, his new club said in a statement. His predecessor, Vadim Skripchenko, resigned on Tuesday, two days after a 4-1 home loss to Terek Grozny raised claims of match-fixing.

Russian media reported that the match was the subject of unusual betting patterns.

When the score was 1-1 at half-time, odds for a Ural win suddenly increased while odds on Terek, who are fourth in the table, plunged.

Deputy prime minister Vitaly Mutko, who also serves as the president of the Russian Football Union, announced that an investigation had been opened but later stated that no irregularities had been found.

Terek on Thursday said it had appealed to the RFU to probe the suspected match-fixing. Ural, currently fourth from bottom in the Russian Premier League, play their next match Saturday against Samara.