It was the middle of the night in Moscow...
to tiny Slovenia.That defeat saw unproven accusations that the players had been out drinking and partying on the eve of the first-leg in Moscow, and even allegations by certain MPs that the team had thrown the game.
The ice-hockey catastrophe has already seen similar claims of misbehavior, and more look set to follow.
But Russia"s coach Vyacheslav Bykov was furious when asked about reports that the players had been seen at "social events" in the days leading up to the match.
"Don"t look for something that isn"t there," he said, as quoted by the Sovetski Sport paper. "You"ve already had a go at the footballers. The guys prepared seriously for the game."
"Let"s get the guillotine or the gallows out, yeah?" he went on. "We have 35 people in the squad, let"s cut them all up on Red Square..."
Things are unlikely to go that far, but Russia"s ice-hockey players are assured a frosty reception when they return to snowbound Moscow.