A Spartak Moscow forward, Alexander Sobolev, faced a Twitch ban after his son directed a hostile remark at the Zenit football club during a livestream. The Mash Telegram channel reported the incident.
During the broadcast, Sobolev Sr. played Dota 2 while his son and Sobolev’s teammates Roman Zobnin, Anton Zinkovsky, Mikhail Ignatov, and Pavel Maslov joined in. After Sobolev Sr. stepped away from the screen, his son took over the chat, engaging with viewers and reading messages aloud.
The young Sobolev echoed a user’s critical comment about Zenit, describing the club as a “disgrace to Russian football” and labeling the blue-white-blue supporters as “homeless people,” a jab sometimes heard from Zenit rivals or critics. The remark appeared to be part of a broader exchange on the stream, not isolated to one user.
According to Mash, Twitch moderators determined the incident violated their rules against insulting a person’s housing status, deeming the statement a negative attack aimed at people without fixed residences. The ban reflected the platform’s enforcement stance on harassment and hateful conduct, even in a gaming context.
There was no definitive statement on Sobolev’s future moves on the field or whether the player would continue to stream. The episode underscores the heightened scrutiny athletes face when their families participate in live broadcasts and the challenges platforms face in moderating comments in real time.
Source discussions around the incident highlight the ongoing tensions between rival clubs and the potential consequences for players and their families when online remarks cross lines of respect and decency.