Spartak Moscow have dropped two players from their Europa League squad after they were found to have ‘liked’ a poem that is critical of the Russian club’s head coach.
Team captain Denis Glushakov and defender Andrei Yeshchenko are in trouble after appearing to approve of the poem, posted on Instagram by actor Dmitry Nazarov.
According to Associated Press, the ditty was vaguely uncomplimentary toward Spartak boss Massimo Carrera, containing piercing lines such as “Carrera isn’t our happiness” and “how many disgraces do we need before out gratefulness runs out?”
Both Glushakov and Yeshchenko are accused of ‘liking’ the post, though the former denies all charges. The latter is yet to comment.
Regardless, while the club haven’t commented directly, both players were omitted from photos posted on the Spartak website showing the squad in training ahead of Thursday’s Europa League game against Rapid Vienna.
Several Russian media outlets have since reported that Glushakov and Yeshchenko have been banished to poet’s corner and will not play any part in the game while an internal investigation is conducted.
Oddly, Carrera has been fairly successful during his two-year stint in charge at Spartak, winning the league title and the Russian Super Cup in 2017.
However, his side finished third last season behind Moscow rivals Lokomotiv and CSKA, and they are already five points off leaders Zenit St. Petersburg after seven games of the 2018/19 campaign.