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| Shakhter Karagandy manager defends sheep-sacrificing ritual | Shakhter Karagandy manager defends sheep-sacrificing ritual |
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| The Shakhter Karagandy manager Viktor Kumykov expects the Kazakh club's sheep-sacrificing ritual to continue before their Champions League play-off second-leg tie against Celtic at Parkhead. | The Shakhter Karagandy manager Viktor Kumykov expects the Kazakh club's sheep-sacrificing ritual to continue before their Champions League play-off second-leg tie against Celtic at Parkhead. |
| The Kazakh champions caused a stir when they killed a sheep at the Astana Arena the day before last Tuesday's 2-0 first-leg win over the Hoops. Animal rights group Peta expressed its outrage in a strongly-worded letter to Uefa president urging Michel Platini to punish Shakhter. | The Kazakh champions caused a stir when they killed a sheep at the Astana Arena the day before last Tuesday's 2-0 first-leg win over the Hoops. Animal rights group Peta expressed its outrage in a strongly-worded letter to Uefa president urging Michel Platini to punish Shakhter. |
| Kumykov's pre-match press conference at Celtic Park on Tuesday afternoon took a surreal turn when the subject was broached. Speaking through an interpreter, the Russian said: "All I can say is that every team and every club has its own pre-match traditions and rituals. Celtic must have their own. We will try to respect our traditions and those traditions have been in place even before we came to the club." | Kumykov's pre-match press conference at Celtic Park on Tuesday afternoon took a surreal turn when the subject was broached. Speaking through an interpreter, the Russian said: "All I can say is that every team and every club has its own pre-match traditions and rituals. Celtic must have their own. We will try to respect our traditions and those traditions have been in place even before we came to the club." |
| Asked if the ritual would take place, he replied, "Possibly, yes." Then, when asked where he planned to get the sheep, Kumykov, to laughter, replied: "As far as we know in Scotland the agriculture is very developed so it shouldn't be an issue to find a sheep." | Asked if the ritual would take place, he replied, "Possibly, yes." Then, when asked where he planned to get the sheep, Kumykov, to laughter, replied: "As far as we know in Scotland the agriculture is very developed so it shouldn't be an issue to find a sheep." |
| The Shakhter manager, though, played down the effects the pre-match ritual had had on the first game in Kazakhstan. "Of course this tradition may have certain psychological impact on players that can help them to relax before the game," he said. "But obviously, what really matters is on the football pitch, the game and the final score and you know we scored twice in the first-leg and Celtic failed to score, that's what really matters." | |
| Shakhter are on the cusp of becoming the first club from Kazakhstan to qualify for the group stages of the Champions League and a place in the group stages of the Europa League is already guaranteed. Kumykov, though, tried to play down the pressure of taking the final step to join Europe's elite. | |
| "There is an additional pressure on my shoulders, I feel that but it doesn't have to be Champions League," he said. | "There is an additional pressure on my shoulders, I feel that but it doesn't have to be Champions League," he said. |
| "It won't be a tragedy for us if we don't qualify to the Champions League group stages." | "It won't be a tragedy for us if we don't qualify to the Champions League group stages." |