Talk about the departure of Leonid Fedun has been in the sports community for a long time. Some fans of Spartak even sought the resignation of the president for years, being dissatisfied with the results of the club under the leadership of a businessman. After international sanctions hit large Russian enterprises, the billionaire himself finally had to think about dismissal.

It seems that the time for big changes for the “red-whites” has finally come. Leonid Arnoldovich is about to step down as president.

What is known about the sensational resignation of Fedun and his possible successor?

Khachaturyants or Matytsyn?

The Baza Telegram channel announced Fedun’s departure from Spartak on the morning of August 1. According to journalists, the Russian businessman will leave his post in the near future. The most likely candidate for his post is the former head of the RPL, Ashot Khachaturyants.

Later, Chempionat journalist Andrey Pankov clarified that the president of Lukoil, Vagit Alekperov, who owns a 36.8% stake in the Moscow club, insists on the appointment of Khachaturyants. Ashot Rafailovich himself has not yet given consent to transfer to the “red-white” camp.

Photo: © Denis Bushkovsky / Match TV

Despite this, according to the Mutko vs. Telegram channel, Khachaturyants will “almost definitely” take Fedun’s place in the club: apparently, negotiations between the parties are already in the final stages.

The press service of the “red-whites” denied the data of Baza and other sources:

We are not aware of any such changes. Yesterday everyone called a different surname, before that they said something else. We think that against the background of various rumors, such news will appear regularly, we take it calmly, – said in Spartak.

Soon, however, the rumor about Fedun’s departure was indirectly confirmed by other news. Metaratings said that Lukoil is ready to buy Otkritie Arena from a businessman for 6 billion rubles.

However, some experts consider all the latest reports to be deliberate stuffing: even if the formal reshuffles in the club take place, Leonid Arnoldovich does not plan to retire in the near future.

It is curious that information about Fedun’s departure from managerial positions began to appear in the press in the middle of summer. On July 12, for example, the media actively discussed the rumor that the first vice-president of Lukoil, Alexander Matytsyn, should become the new head of Spartak. It is he, according to Sport24, who will become the “decision-making center” in the club, while Leonid Arnoldovich will retain his place on the board of directors. On the same day, however, the press service of the team denied these data.

Photo: © RIA Novosti / Pavel Bednyakov

Rumors about Matytsyn, however, surfaced again two weeks later. On July 23, KB Telega issued a more accurate message: the author of the Telegram channel said that Fedun would soon leave the post of chairman of the board of directors of Spartak, giving way to Matytsyn. This time the news was denied by the president of the club himself, calling it “nonsense”, but after his statement, the information of “KB Telega” was confirmed by other sources.

At the end of June, we recall, Leonid Fedun resigned as vice president of Lukoil, explaining his decision by age and family circumstances. Experts associated this resignation with sanctions against the company. At the same time, the businessman said that his departure from Lukoil would not affect Spartak in any way, but now it becomes clear that one cannot do without reshuffles in the club’s administration.