At the Gazprom Arena, during the match of the 18th round of the RPL championship, Zenit – Pari NN turned on the recording of the noise of the fans, since the total number of spectators at the stadium was the lowest since the pandemic due to the introduction of Fan ID – "Fan ID" . This was reported by the Fontanka correspondent, also photos and videos with empty stands appeared on social networks and Telegram channels.
In total, according to official attendance statistics, there were 19,705 spectators at the stadium, people with scarves and posters were present in the lower stands. At the same time, the fan stand, which had always filled up an hour before the game, was almost empty. Before the match, the text of the club anthem was turned on, as well as internoise with recorded chants, drums and whistles. The correspondent of the publication claims that people in the stands silently watched the game for almost the entire match.
The average attendance at home matches of Zenit in the first part of the 2022/23 season was 34,029. As the newspaper notes, earlier fans of RPL clubs, including Zenit, announced that they would not issue a fan ID. Before the match, a poster was hung outside the arena with the inscription: "Come listen to the silence."
Zenit won 3-0. The first two goals were scored by Malcolm Filipe Silva de Oliveira: in the 12th minute with a direct free-kick, and in the 47th minute, redirecting the ball to the far post with the head of Mostovoy.
At the end of February 2022, the International Football Federation and UEFA excluded Russian teams and clubs from international tournaments. The teams do not play in European competitions, and the Russian team has lost its chances to participate in the 2022 World Cup. After that, the Ministry of Sports of the Russian Federation wanted to create a football league for the occupied regions of Ukraine, as well as for South Ossetia and Abkhazia, and hold championships. According to him, the teams of LDNR, Crimea, Zaporozhye and Kherson will play, and the organization will not belong to the structures of the Russian Football Union. It is planned to create it on the basis of the Crimean Football Union.
