"Zenit" apologized to Makhachkala's "Dynamo" for the pre-match poem about beards and papakhas.

Saint Petersburg's "Zenit" publicly apologized to Makhachkala's "Dynamo" for a pre-match epigram in which it stated to the guests from Dagestan that, despite being backed by the fortress of Makhachkala, "here for ages everyone has been shaving beards to the skin, and the wind has been tearing off papakhas like a hand." "Dynamo" reminded that the papakha and beard are symbols of honor, dignity, faith, and centuries-old traditions for the people of Dagestan, and demanded an apology.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot", the practice of public apologies initiated by Ramzan Kadyrov has spread beyond Chechnya to other regions of Russia. More about this practice can be read in the "Caucasian Knot" reference "The Fashion for Apologies: From Chechnya to the Outskirts".

Saint Petersburg's "Zenit" published a pre-match epigram addressed to their opponents on the eve of the match against Makhachkala's "Dynamo" in its official account. In it, the club contrasted the support of the guests from Makhachkala with lines about shaving beards and the wind tearing off papakhas.

"Let Makhachkala stand as a fortress behind you, and beards lie on shirts, here for ages everyone has been shaving beards to the skin, and the wind has been tearing off papakhas like a hand," the club wrote in the epigram, which was later deleted from the account, the text of which was cited by Sport24 on October 25.

The jokes of the Petersburg club crossed the line of what is acceptable, stated the chairman of the general meeting of founders of Makhachkala's "Dynamo" Magomed Bagaudинов. "The lines about how 'beards were shaved to the skin' and the wind 'tore off papakhas' are unacceptable to us. Every word has its price, especially when it is spoken by one of the largest clubs in the country before a multimillion audience," Bagaudинов wrote today in his Telegram channel.

He emphasized that the papakha and beard for the people of Dagestan are not just details of appearance and not subjects for mockery, but symbols of honor, dignity, faith, and centuries-old traditions.

"We expect public apologies from the leadership of 'Zenit' to the fans of Makhachkala's 'Dynamo' and all Dagestanis," Bagaudинов stated.

Today, "Zenit" published apologies in verse on its Telegram channel. The club expressed regret that its words hurt the recipients and assured that it did not intend to offend their feelings. The epigram was explained by the club as a reference to history, culture, and the times of Peter. The club emphasized that it respects Dagestan and the traditions of its peoples.

As of 14:30 Moscow time on October 25, this post on the Telegram channel of the football club "Zenit", which has about 182.6 thousand subscribers, received 1007 reactions from users and 59 comments.

Some participants in the discussion supported the apology and called for consideration of the significance of traditions for the opponents. "Because for them, beards are sacred, this was not taken into account. And when it goes beyond the bounds of humor and offends – who needs that? This is sports. Are there not enough wars in the world?" wrote Konstantin.

"Of course, it is worth it, and if you don't want to apologize, you should think carefully before writing something like that," noted Alzhanat Khalikova.

"Only the arrogant do not apologize," pointed out user M7MD.

Some other commentators did not see grounds for an apology in the epigram and referred to Petersburg traditions. "Is it worth apologizing? What kind of bending is this," wrote Cat Leopold.

"And what now? We are in Petersburg, where the founder ordered beards to be shaved, this is our tradition," he replied to Konstantin's comment.