While Russia is no stranger to sporting scandals, a game of bandy played between two teams in the Russian Bandy Super League ended in extremely farcical circumstances, with Baykal-Energiya and Vodnik sharing 20 own goals between them, according to a report on Monday in the Guardian.
Bandy or “Russian Hockey” is the world’s second most popular winter sport and a variation of hockey, but played on large outdoor rinks with a rubber ball. The game is mainly popular in parts of Russia and Scandinavia.
The game played at the Trud Stadium in Arkhangelsk saw a 11-9 win for the away side Baykal over home team Vodnik. The latter are nine-time Russian Champions and also two-time World Champions.
With 22 minutes of the game remaining, Vodnik player Oleg Pivovarov netted three own goals in quick succession to give Baykal the lead before the away team hit back with nine goals of their own. Vodnik would have the last laugh, as Pivovarov stepped up the ante to put eight more through his own net to give the visitors a not-so-well-deserved victory.
The president of the Russian Bandy Federation, Boris Skrynnik, while speaking to the Tass news agency alleged that the home team started the own-goal scoring frenzy in order to gain a more favourable draw in the playoffs and to avoid playing defending champions Yenisey in case they had won.
Bizarrely though, Skrynnik claimed that last season’s runners-up Baykal “decided to have some fun” and scored some own goals themselves. He confirmed that both teams would face disciplinary measures. Baykal are currently second in the table while Vodnik are sixth.
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