Russia's footballers performed badly at Euro 2020 because they use obscene language & are ‘spiritually weak,’ says Orthodox Church

The Russian national football team needs help from priests if it wants success at future tournaments because the players are ‘spiritually weak’ and ‘unmotivated,’ a high-ranking Orthodox Church clergyman said on Thursday.

According to news agency RIA Novosti, Metropolitan Mitrofan, the chairman of the church’s Patriarchal Commission on Physical Culture and Sports, put Russia’s failure at Euro 2020 down to a lack of holiness within the squad.

Last month, Russia’s national football team was knocked out of the tournament at the first stage, coming last in its group behind Belgium, Denmark, and Finland.

“The solution to the problem is long overdue,” Metropolitan Mitrofan explained. “There must be confessors in the team.”

“Because, in my opinion, there is exactly a lack of spiritual preparation: Some of them are not fighting. Spiritually, it seems to me, they are weak. Unmotivated,” he continued.

The clergyman suggested that one reason for the team’s weakness is their “spiritual ruin,” which is partially caused by too much swearing and obscene language. Despite wanting confessors to be around the team, he noted that it would be difficult for a priest to be in the atmosphere of the football locker room, where coaches motivate their athletes through foul language.

“Naturally, in such a situation, a priest cannot be present in this atmosphere of dirty swearing, which is the part of the ordinary life of our football players,” the metropolitan said.

“Overcoming [the spiritual ruin] is the key to change the situation around the team,” he continued, noting that the players need to pray and concentrate.

Following Russia’s elimination from the tournament, the Russian Football Union (RFU) Technical Committee slammed head coach Stanislav Cherchesov’s performance as “unsatisfactory.” There is, however, no sign of Cherchesov handing in his resignation, and there has been no suggestion he is facing the sack.

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