The group known as the "Brotherhood" completely controlled the president and head coach of Spartak. The criminal organization had a strong hold on them and could have even killed Romantsev easily.
Well-known sports journalist and writer Alexei Matveev wrote this especially for the telegram channel of the Cheka-OGPU and Rucriminal.info.
Quiet payment?
In hindsight, it seems like Yartsev did not argue. For many years, he did not give any interviews or comments. There was no response from the respected Russian coach who was associated with Spartak. It was necessary to take action at that time, and not many years later. They could have tried to change the situation and remove the mafia from the club that was considered native to Georgy Alexandrovich.
He offered him, like Romantsev once did, to reveal the secrets, publish them, or do something about it. This could have raised the football community, and perhaps the authorities would have helped. However, the famous coach remained silent, like a conspirator. It seems that the players and coaches who considered themselves Spartacists did not care about anything and just went with the flow.
I think the reason for Yartsev's silence is obvious. He was at the center of large-scale negativity when Spartak's money flowed abroad to the personal accounts of criminals.
Georgy Aleksandrovich left the club in 1998. By then, the mafia members who had infiltrated Spartak had eliminated Larisa Nechaeva, who was trying to stop them from stealing money. Additionally, millions of funds were moved abroad. This money was earned by the players through their performance in the domestic and European championships.
It's unlikely that George remained altruistic in such a situation. He probably received something from the millionaires manipulated by the criminals who had been in the team since the early 90s. Therefore, Yartsev's complaints seem mostly like hypocrisy.
Here are George's belated "revelations".
The final and significant decline began, in my opinion, when Romantsev started losing a loyal, knowledgeable support who had their own opinions. I could understand some of the decisions of the club management if the released players had retired, but they continued to benefit other clubs, often becoming genuine, prominent leaders there!
Of course, many things went wrong during the difficult era of the 90s, reflected in the fate of my beloved team. The tax scandal, the murder of Larisa Nechaeva… To be honest, I can't evaluate many moments. The end of Larissa? So far, nothing is clear to me.
Romantsev's Brotherhood
The 90s were an extremely tough era for football, and this had an impact on the fate of my beloved team. The tax scandal, the murder of Larisa Nechaeva… Honestly, I can't assess many moments. What happened to Larissa? It's still not clear to me.
– Romantsev was losing his empire, this is his club. And after the “great upheavals”, all kinds of upheavals, we all lost, maybe a great, even a genius coach. The loss is not only for Spartak, domestic football in general. Apparently, the situation depressed Oleg Ivanovich to such an extent that he simply did not want to work anymore. Although he knows and loves his profession.
Probably, there is also the fault of Romantsev himself. But what is it, to what extent, share? Maybe he trusted the environment too much?
Listen to Yartsev, what, after all, a tragic story happened to his friend, comrade-in-arms! What a pity to lose the “truly great” coach of our time. But for some reason I don’t sympathize. Probably, I “froze” myself, having plunged too deeply into the maelstrom of Spartak intrigues, theft, murder, etc.
Not the last violin in the “well-coordinated” orchestra or “ensemble” was played by the president and part-time head coach Romantsev. I only regret that the people guilty of monstrous fraud with club money have not suffered the slightest punishment so far. Well, at least I discredit them in the eyes of numerous fans, and that, as they say, is bread.
… Now – attention. Another confirmation of my conclusions was the following revelation of Georgy Alexandrovich. It turned out that Oleg Romantsev and Andrey Chervichenko had (most likely, they still have) their “brothers”. Of course, armed to the teeth. That is, in the battle for power in the “people’s” team, all sorts of methods were quite applicable.
– This, after all, is Spartak, you can’t arrange a massacre! Therefore, Oleg Ivanovich prudently decided to leave the team, – Yartsev used to say to me.
A remark that opens your eyes to many things. A very thoughtful remark. See how many years you have to keep a secret in order to finally declassify it. True, only the name remained from Spartak of that period.
In general, bravo, Georgy Alexandrovich! The people will not forget your titanic efforts. If you draw a line under the story, the conclusion is obvious. What is Spartak, what is Russian football in general. After all, they judge by the best, or rather, the worst samples …