It's only a game: December 2005 Archives

Scotland: Vladimir Romanov, owner of Edinburgh football club Heart of Midlothian, had an unusual festive message for his critics—the Devil is making them do it. The message appeared in the programme for the game against Falkirk, and was accompanied by a photograph of Romanov on a beach with his trousers rolled up.

In his rant, Romanov told fans: Even the most sacred of places on Earth, the places that house the remains of Christ are blighted by profiteers and money-grabbers.

“Likewise in the football world, which is sacred to those who love football,there are those who seek to ruin all that is good about the game.

“But it is the Devil that is driving them forward and they are not going to stop. All that will remain for me is to step aside and bid them farewell on their road to Hell.

Fans were reportedly bewildered by the message, one wondering if it had somehow been mistranslated from Russian. For the record, Hearts won 5-0.

VLAD GETS MAD—The Daily Record, 27th December 2005.