English refs biased against Russians Bilyaletdinov

Diniyar Bilyaletdinov says English referees started discriminating against Russians after FIFA handed the 2018 World Cup to Russia instead of England. The winger told Russian television that this was a factor in his January move from Everton to Spartak Moscow. “I can say with total certainty that the atmosphere took a turn for the worse after we beat them to the rights to host the World Cup,” he said on the Rossiya-2 television channel Friday. “The referees didn’t have much sympathy for us. All other things being equal, you’d lose out. ... I left maybe not just for this reason, but what happened, happened.” Russia was awarded the 2018 tournament in December 2010, a year and a half into Bilyaletdinov's time with Everton. English media reported numerous claims of corruption and vote-buying by senior FIFA executives. The bitterness was also felt off the pitch, he said. “I felt it in the press, in relationships with people involved in the game. Maybe it was subconscious.” The Russia international made 59 Premier League appearances for Everton after joining from Lokomotiv Moscow in 2009, scoring eight goals in two and a half years on Merseyside. After a high-profile first season, Bilyaletdinov’s first-team starts became increasingly rare, and he started just seven of 22 league games at Everton this season. Bilyaletdinov has not scored in four appearances for Spartak, and is ruled out until mid-May with a broken bone in his foot. He has scored six goals in 46 appearances for the Russian national team, and played in every game during Russia’s charge to the semifinals of Euro 2008.