Russia's top football fans union on Wednesday signaled opposition to U.S.-style playoff system for the Russian Premier League, saying it would prefer the authorities to focus on improving the Russian Cup.
Sergey Fursenko, the head of the Russian Football Union, told RIA Novosti on Tuesday that he was pushing a plan to determine the champions using the sort of playoff system seen in ice hockey or baseball.
“You shouldn’t forget that a knockout system is already used in the world of football, just not in leagues, but in drawing national cups,” the All-Russian Fans' Union said on its website.
“That’s exactly the tournament that has a second-class status in our country. Maybe we can start by dealing with that problem?”
The fans said that they were “wary” of the current problems and said they lacked detail on how they might work in practice.
“We don’t support ephemeral slogans,” they said.
The Russian Cup has historically suffered from low attendances and leading teams often field weakened sides.
In 2011, minnows Alania Vladikavkaz qualified for the Europa League after reaching the cup final without scoring a goal after a string of penalty wins and a walkover.
