Former Moscow football player and coach Spartak Valery Gladilin noted that there is no critical situation for football players to play in sub-zero temperatures, in fact it is beneficial. His words are quoted by the publication vprognosis.
“We wear weather-appropriate equipment and thermal underwear. The same goes for coaches. And if the space is heated there will be no problem. We always played in the cold. And when I was a football player, although there were no heated fields at that time. None of our football players got sick after playing in the cold. It’s just good for your health,” Gladilin said.
On December 8, Lokomotiv Moscow defeated Ural Yekaterinburg with a score of 2-0 in the 18th round match of the Russian Premier League (RPL). The match was played in the capital, the temperature was below -10 degrees.
In the 16th round, a match was played between Baltika Kaliningrad and Spartak Moscow in the snow. As part of the 17th round of the national championship held in Moscow on December 3, the CSKA – Rostov and Lokomotiv – Zenit matches were played under heavy snowfall. Moreover, the second match was supposed to start at 16.30 Moscow time, but due to heavy snowfall in the capital, the match started at 17.00. Unlike the CSKA-Rostov match played during the day, Russian Railways Arena employees managed to clear the area from snow.
The Russian Premier League considered the option of postponing the 18th round matches to the spring, but the decision was made to play them.
Former president of Lokomotiv in the name Don’t mention the suitability of the match in cold weather.