Zenit St Petersburg won their first, and Russia's second UEFA Cup on Wednesday night. They where my favourites to beat Rangers, whose defensive football has been terrible to watch.

I think the main problem I have with their football, particularly in European competition, was the cause of their downfall. When Zenit scored with just 18 minutes to go, Rangers had no ability to put their foot on the accelerator and find an equaliser.

I don't have issues with every club that plays defensively because usually they also try to use the counter attack or set piece to score goals. Rangers didn't even seem interested in scoring in this manner. They had 120 minutes and penalties on their mind.

'I don't have issues with every club that plays defensively because usually they also try to use the counter attack or set piece to score goals'


However, my restrained adulation at seeing Zenit beat those anti-football Glaswegians has been scuppered by the reports of a racist transfer policy at the Russian club.

Martin Samuel reports on timesonline.co.uk that Zenit coach, Dick Advocaat, won't sign black players because the fans won't allow him to.

"Advocaat said in an interview conducted with Yuri Doud, an English-speaking journalist working for Pro Sport magazine in Russia, that he could not sign black players as coach of Zenit. The fans would not allow it, he claimed. In 83 years Zenit have never found use for a black player and Advocaat’s chosen path is not to confront this standard, but to work with it. “I don’t want to sign a player who won’t be accepted by the fans,” he told Doud, who has the interview on tape."

Advocaat continued the interview by stating: “The fans are the most important thing that Zenit have and that is why I have to ask them outright how they will react if we sign a dark-skinned player.”

He also said, in the conversation with Pro Sport: “The only players who can make Zenit stronger are dark skinned. Look at the Brazilians who play for CSKA Moscow. For us, it would be impossible. I would be happy to sign anyone, but the fans don’t like black players. I do not understand how they could pay so much attention to skin colour. For me, there is no difference; but they care.”

Advocaat renaged on a contract with the Australian Football Federation to manage the Socceroos to take up his current role at Zenit and I'm very glad he did.

It is disgusting that this behaviour continues, and that what seem like decent people are able to justify it. As Samuel quotes Edmund Burke: “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."

I, for one, won't be cheering on Zenit any time soon, even if that means Rangers win some trophies.