Transfer Ban Hits Rostov Teams in January Summary
The first month of 2026 was rich in sports news and events. Unfortunately, not all were positive. Here«s a roundup of January for Rostov teams.
Relying on Themselves
FC Rostov returned from break in January and even started a training camp in the UAE, where they crushed the bronze medalist of the Chinese championship (3:0) and drew with Lokomotiv. But that«s not the main thing.
If in December many wrote about financial problems at Rostov, now the yellow-and-blues have a new woe. FIFA has banned the Rostov team from registering new players for the next three transfer windows — that«s a year and a half. All sanctions will be lifted from Rostov when it pays Peñarol about 500,000 euros (about $550,000 at current rates).
The reason is the debt to Uruguayan club Peñarol for the transfer of midfielder Rodrigo Saravia. If you«ve forgotten who that is, it»s not surprising. He will go down in history as one of the most dubious transfers in Rostov«s years.
Let«s briefly recall his history. Talks about the midfielder»s possible move to Rostov emerged back in January 2024. At that time, Saravia played for Argentine club Gimnasia, but was owned by Uruguayan Peñarol. In the end, he changed his mind about moving to the Rostov team due to proximity to Ukraine, and he also stated that he didn«t want to live far from his family.
Did Rostov, which already has the case of the escaped Normann, stop being interested in such a player? No. In the summer of 2024, they paid 1.95 million euros (about $2.15 million) for the Uruguayan — a substantial sum for the yellow-and-blues. Saravia himself forgot all his problems, but... Just six months later, he simply didn«t show up for Rostov»s training camp, staying in South America. Since then, he has no intention of returning to Russia.
The transfer turned out to be a failure from all sides: huge expenses were not justified — the player rarely played under Karpin (why was he bought then), then simply fled, and as a result, Rostov ended up with a transfer ban because of his transfer.
There is also good news. Rostov finally started congratulating club legends: Stipe Pletikosa and Dmitri Kirichenko had birthdays. For the previous eight years, the team for some reason didn«t do this. The reasons for this decision were never stated.
Fans Shower Team with Teddy Bears
The handball team Rostov-Don had a short break. In January, the team first achieved a hard-fought victory in Tolyatti over Lada (23:19), and then at home defeated Astrakhanochka (36:22).
In the last match, the opponents led by one goal after the first half, but in the second half, the Rostov women sent a whole bunch of balls into Astrakhanochka«s goal. The fans didn»t lag behind the team, organizing a teddy bear toss after the final siren.
The heroine of the match was goalkeeper Anastasia Kazmenko, who saved 12 out of 24 shots on her goal. There were also bad news. In one of the episodes, she suffered an anterior cruciate ligament knee injury — details of the injury are still unknown.
«I got the injury right during the game, after one of the saves, and was substituted immediately. I didn»t understand anything at first. Now I«m still waiting for the final examination, where the full picture will become clear. Of course, I hope for the best and for a quick return to the court,» commented the goalkeeper.
Climbing Off the Bottom
The «Condors» started 2026 in last place in the standings. In January, Rostov played eight matches — four at home and four away. The games at the Condors Sports Palace can certainly be counted as an asset — only one loss in regulation time to Toros.
In matches against Olimpiya (0:1 in a shootout) and Molot (4:5 in overtime), the Rostov players earned one point for a draw, but couldn«t get an extra point. The last game was the most controversial. Rostov led 3:0 and allowed the opponent not only to catch up but to take the lead. However, the Condors snatched a draw in the last seconds, but then lost in overtime. A hat-trick for the Perm team was scored by Maxim Kitsyn, winner of the 2011 World Junior Championship.
The return of team leaders from the infirmary helped improve results. Rostov ended 2025 under conditions of personnel shortage. Sometimes head coach Grigory Panteleyev used three lines instead of four. This, as a rule, affected the ends of matches, when the hockey players simply lacked strength.
Rostov also had a decent away series in the cities of the Urals. They defeated strong teams Gornyak (4:1) and Magnitka (3:2). At the same time, the Rostov players suffered two losses with a bitter score of 2:3 — to Chelmet and Yuzhny Ural.
Rostov moved off the last place in the VHL, shifting to the 31st spot in the standings.
