Football
Reuters 19y

Soccer-Russian Caucasus derby to go ahead despite violence fears

SOCHI, Russia, June 23 - A derby match in the
volatile Caucasus region will go ahead this weekend despite
calls to change the venue over fears of violence, the Russian
Football Union (RFU) said on Thursday.

North Ossetia's Alania Vladikavkaz host Chechen side Terek
Grozny in the Premier League on Saturday and local media said
Terek asked the RFU to move the game to Moscow because political
tension between the regions could bubble over at the match.

"I don't foresee any problems," RFU chief Vitaly Mutko told
Reuters ahead of the RFU executive board meeting in the Black
Sea resort of Sochi.

"In terms of security, everything has been taken care of."

Relations between Chechens and North Ossetians have been
particularly tense since 330 people died -- half of them
children -- in a mass hostage-taking by Chechen separatists last
year in Beslan, a small town near Vladikavkaz.

Officials also feared North Ossetians might use the game to
retaliate against Chechens for planting a bomb that killed more
than 50 people in Vladikavkaz, just a short walk from the
stadium, six years ago.

Terek, who this year won promotion to the top flight for the
first time, are forced to play their home matches in nearby
Pyatigorsk because there is nowhere suitable in Grozny following
a decade of war and the security risks are high.

Alania and Terek occupy the last two places in the 16-team
league and both have just nine points from 12 matches.

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