Football in Russia is crashing and isolation can only hasten its decline

Trajectory has been downwards for some time and the country’s pariah status spells disaster for its clubs and national team

Last Saturday, Zenit St Petersburg beat Arsenal Tula 3-0 to stretch their lead at the top of the Russian Premier League over Dynamo Moscow to five points. Dynamo, managed by the German Sandro Schwarz, needed a last-minute penalty to salvage a draw at home to Rostov, while in Nizhny Novgorod, the Italian coach Paolo Vanoli threw on Victor Moses at half-time as his Spartak Moscow side drew 1-1.

But this is another world now. Foreign involvement lingers, but these are games that feel as if they are happening in a different reality. There will almost certainly be no European football for Russian clubs next season. Spartak have been expelled from this season’s Europa League. Russia did not play their World Cup playoff against Poland on Thursday.

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