Football: Chechen strongman admits loudspeaker taunt at referee

MOSCOW (AFP) - Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov on Monday admitted to taking control of the public address system during a home match played by his local football team, Terek Grozny, to shout: "The referee is corrupt. You jerk!"

"Yes it was me, Ramzan Kadyrov," he told the RIA Novosti news agency after his booming voice interrupted play in the match against Rubin Kazan on Sunday evening - which ended 0-0.

"I had serious reasons to do this. What's more, my grievances against the referee are not only about yesterday's game," he said.

"The actions of the referee require careful investigation. We must not allow one man to spoil the whole game."

As the referee, Mikhail Vilkov, handed out a red card to the Terek captain Rizvan Utsiyev, an infuriated yell rang out across the stadium to cheers from the crowd, according to television footage posted on YouTube.

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