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British Soccer Fans Invade Moscow, Then Get the Boot
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The British Embassy thanked the Russians for their "sporting cooperation."
And those were probably the kindest words exchanged by the two countries in 18 months. Relations chilled after Russia refused to extradite Andrei Lugovoy, a former KGB officer who is accused of the London murder of Alexander Litvinenko, another former KGB agent and a critic of Vladimir Putin, then Russia's president and now its prime minister. Litvinenko died in November 2006 after being poisoned with a radioactive substance.
Lugovoy, who has since been elected to the Russian parliament, said Wednesday that he planned to be at the game and root for Chelsea -- like most of the Russians in the 70,000-capacity stadium.
Chelsea, or Chelski as some call it, is owned by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, who divides his time among London, Moscow and the remote region of Chukotka, in Russia's far north, where he is governor. Abramovich has pumped hundreds of millions of dollars into the club, buying some of the world's best talent.
But Manchester United, which is owned by the U.S. sports tycoon Malcolm Glazer, is that little bit better at the moment. United had already beaten Chelsea for this year's English league title, the second year in a row it has done so.
Wednesday night's game ended 1-1 after both regular and extra time. European club soccer's most coveted prize was finally sealed after an excruciating series of penalty kicks, which United won, 6-5.
Special correspondent Anna Masterova contributed to this report.
