Because of this ridiculous reason, the players of the USSR national team were punished. They did not expect such arbitrariness from officials

For no reason came. Tour gatherings of Soviet athletes have long overgrown with legends. Representatives of different sports liked to spend time behind the bottle of something strong. The joint drinking of alcohol gave birth to funny stories, and blunders, and even tragedies. But one such gathering led to a seemingly absurd decision. The players of the USSR national team suffered for … another team lost. How can this be?

“To each basketball player on his knees, four football players”

In 1986-1988, the USSR national team played in the qualifying tournament for the Olympic Games. The start turned out to be good: in the first three matches, the team twice prevailed and once divided the glasses. The victory over Bulgaria on May 7, 1987 stood out, in which the young but very talented Christ Stoichkov was already stood out. Soviet football players won the road with a score of 1-0, and goalkeeper Dmitry Kharin beat off a penalty from Lachezar Tanev.RIA Novostkmandrd celebrated success at the hotel with friends from the basketball team who prepared for the European Championship. It so happened that the meeting fell on May 9 – Victory Day. The Soviet athletes simply did not have the right to noted it. The investigators of the gatherings were goalkeeper Alexei Prudnikov and midfielder Alexei Mikhailichenko – they lived in the same room. There was a meeting of two teams. “There was not enough space-so four football players have a village for each basketball player,” Sport-Express Prudnikov told. Champagne, according to eyewitnesses, poured as a river. Plus, there was a good nursery in the form of Bulgarian cognac “Slnchev Bryag.” And all would be nothing – the athletes sat, burst out and returned to their homeland the next day. After a short respite, the basketball team went to the European Championship in Greece. The team of Alexander Gomelsky had every chance to win. I almost managed to complete the task, but an unexpected misfire occurred in the final. The USSR national team sensationally lost to the Greeks, which at that time were weakly quoted in the basketball firmament. As part of the opponent, Nikos Galis stood out, who alone scored 40 points and became the best player of the Che-1987. As a result – defeat with a score of 101: 103 in additional time.

Left without a monthly salary

Of course, Soviet sports officials tried in every possible way to find the reason why basketball players were left without gold. Suddenly they remembered a gathering with players in Bulgaria. The fact that she was a month before the dramatic defeat did not bother anyone. As a result, the football team, despite the win-win series in the Olympic selection, was punished. “We were fined because of these basketball players.” They said that we did not give them European champions to become. Their little Galis broke them, and the players were deprived of a monthly salary. Everyone saw where the basketball players went and how many champagne were in their hands. This is still “Slnchev Bryag” in his pockets, ”Prudnikov recalled. Nevertheless, it was unlikely that it could have been. Still, two teams did not just drink-they celebrated a state holiday. “Well, how can I not drink May 9?!” – summed up Prudnikov. And party officials found extreme in this situation, which, alas, was the ordinary of those years.