Russian chief referee Ivanov resigns

Valentin Ivanov, the head of the Referee and Inspection Department of the Russian Football Union, has resigned from his post, announced the RFU.
According to the press service, Ivanov, who held this post since December 2013, submitted a letter of resignation and it was accepted by the RFU administration. Ivanov came under heavy criticism after October 2 match of the Russian Football Premier League (RFPL) between Spartak Moscow and Zenit St. Petersburg. Heated controversies erupted when Zenit’s left-back Domenico Criscito, who already earned a yellow card, knocked down Spartak’s winger Quincy Promes with the match score standing at 3-2 in favor of the club from St. Petersburg. The incident went unnoticed by the referee Sergey Ivanov. Moreover, during the next attack of Zenit, he awarded a penalty kick on the Spartak goal. The game ended 4-2 and Sergey Ivanov received the lowest possible mark for his refereeing.

Source: TASS