Luciano Spalletti: I am surprised that our match against CSKA has not been postponed

Zenit St. Petersburg manager Luciano Spalletti expressed his surprise at the Russian FA decision not to postpone the champions’ Saturday fixture against CSKA, despite the Saint-Petersburg club having to play just three days later in the Champions League.

«The only thing I cannot get about the calendar is why do we have to play just three days before our Champions League return leg against Benfica? Doesn’t the FA try to help the Russian teams who play in Europe?» said Spaletti according to a Sports.ru correspondent.

«I remember April 2010, when we agreed to postpone our fixture against the Moscow club as they were about to play in a European match. But we didn’t get a decision in our favour two years later. For us the time difference because of the long-distance flight is seven hours, the temperature jump – 25 degrees. If two years everyone was very Russian, today they are not so Russian any more. It’s double standards,» the Italian coach complained.