Bookmakers' ads jeopardize reputation of "Akhmat" FC among Muslims

Under the terms of the sponsor's agreement, the "Akhmat" Football Club (FC) is now advertised by the "PariMatch" betting company, the logo of which is on the players' T-shirts. The cooperation with bookmakers will not improve the club's image among Muslims, since gambling is prohibited by Islam, experts have noted.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on December 10, 2020, the USA expanded the Magnitsky list of sanctions to include the "Akhmat Kadyrov" Fund and the "Akhmat" FC.

Within the above cooperation, the "PariMatch" logo will appear on footballers' uniform. Ruslan Medved, a bookmaker, has called the "Akhmat" FC "one of the most promising clubs in the Russian football elite."

Betting is a type of gambling that is prohibited by Islam, said Dmitry Mikulsky, a leading researcher at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS). According to his version, such cooperation can damage the club's image.

Leonid Syukiyainen, a lawyer and an Islamic scholar, agrees with him.

"According to Islam, any risky things associated with uncertainty are not allowed," he has stressed. However, according to his story, the prohibitions of Islam and the worldly life do not always find harmony.

"The club bosses see other opportunities here; perhaps, a need in terms of financing the FC," Mr Syukiyainen has noted.

Sport betting is not allowed in Islam, Alexei Malashenko, a political analyst, has confirmed.

"The logic is that if something stupefies the brain, and bets are surely stupefying it, then this is contrary to the Koran and interferes with praying," he has explained.

Despite the ban on gambling in Islam, some residents of Chechnya place bets at online bookmakers. Thus, Azamat, a high school student from Grozny, said that he has been betting on football matches for more than a year. The teenager has noted that many of his friends are also betting, including on boxing and mixed martial arts (MMA) fights.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on August 5, 2021 at 00:34 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.