Moscow – Demonstrators gathered in Moscow on Monday to protest a
referee’s call disallowing a Russian goal in an ice hockey match against the
USA in the Winter Olympics at Sochi calling for the referee to be made into
soap.
The protesters, organised by the youth group of President Vladimir
Putin’s United Russia Party, donned Russian hockey jerseys and shouted, “Make
soap out of the ref!” — a common expression among Russian soccer fans.
Wielding a banner with a photograph of the American referee, Brad Meier,
the protesters used a cheese grater to grate soap into buckets.
Even Russia’s liberals joined in the fight. “I agree with everything
said about the referee,” wrote corruption blogger and opposition activist
Alexei Navalny. One liberal website, Lenta.ru, wrote that the “Jewish masonry”
was clearly involved in the call, joking reference to Soviet-era conspiracy
theories about the West.
President Vladimir Putin, who was one of the unhappy fans in the Sochi
rink on Saturday, told Russian state news agencies on Monday that the game
“should have been stopped” if the goal was out of place, but asked for fans to
show sportsmanship.
“Even if the judge was wrong, we mustn’t stick labels on anybody,” he
said. “We can’t forget that sport takes courage, but also luck.”
