Romanov at it again

RIGA - Controversy? Sport? Lithuania? Vladamir Romanov must be involved.
It almost would not be a month of sport in the Baltics without Lithuania’s colorful businessman adding another chapter to what is turning out to be a truly odd, yet intriguing biography.
But whereas in the past Romanov – who amongst other things owns Scottish soccer club Hearts and Lithuanian basketball team Zalgiris – has stuck to upsetting the sporting faithful, the former Soviet naval officer’s latest decision has repercussions far exceeding the sporting sphere.

The latest controversy began when promising young Scottish defender Craig Thomson – who plays for Romanov’s Hearts in the Scottish Premier League – was on June 17 convicted of acting with lewd and libidinous behavior towards two girls aged 12 and 14, of whom he came into contact with on social networking Internet sites. Consequently, Thomson has been placed on a sex offenders list for five years and fined 4,000 pounds.

Given the gravity of the charges, it then came as something of a surprise when Romanov retained Thomson on the Hearts’ books. The move received widespread condemnation from children’s advocacy groups but, arguably more damaging, from team sponsors with team water sponsor MacB Water withdrawing their sponsorship of the team.
Eventually the pressure told and Romanov was forced to make a u-turn on his original decision, by first suspending Thomson and then on July 10 announcing, via the Hearts official team Web site, that the player had indeed been sacked by the club and he would be leaving imminently.

While the move was congratulated, Romanov still came under fire for taking so long to make the decision, with former Hearts player Alan McLaren telling the media that, “They wanted it dealt with immediately and it wasn’t. This should have been the priority of the owner; it was a serious decision and it should have been dealt with quickly.”
Romanov tried covering his own back by telling BBC Scotland that the reason for the longevity of the process was due to the fact that he had been on holiday and had not had a chance to talk to Thomson and his family to properly understand the severity of the charges. He then took a stab at society in general, claiming that one person should not be singled out for what he believes to be a widespread social problem.

That should have effectively brought an end to the shameful incident, but instead Romanov has decided to add more fuel to the fire by moving Thomson to another of the clubs he owns – FBK Kaunas, where he will remain until at least November when football in Lithuania will effectively close down over winter.
The announcement came on Monday via FBK Kaunas’ Web site and was quickly picked up by Scottish media, who have clearly stated that Romanov is the link between the two clubs.

The move not only shows that Romanov’s comments on BBC Scotland lacked any real sincerity, but has also opened up the controversial owner for new rounds of condemnation and criticism, which is sure to arise in the coming days.