Own goal fest sparks official ire in Russia bandy match

Irate Russian officials on Monday annulled the result of a traditional bandy ice hockey match that saw players score 20 own goals in a bid to face easier opponents. The game of bandy -- a sort of field hockey on ice that is played mainly on the freezing steppes of Siberia -- saw the home team in the northern town of Arkhangelsk hit 11 own goals and their opponents notch up 9. Top league teams Vodnik and Baikal-Energia failed to find the net before the 68th minute when home team player Oleg Pivovarov scored three own goals in a row. The visitors from Siberia replied with nine own goals but Pivovarov put eight more goals in his own net in the last seven minutes to avoid meeting reigning champions Enisei Krasnoyarsk in the first round of play-offs. While the match might have left fans bewildered it certainly saw officials fuming. "The result of the match between Vodnik Arkhangelsk and Baikal-Energia was cancelled," the bandy federation said in a statement. "A rematch will take place on March 3." Federation chief Boris Skrynnik called the match a "provocation" and promised to take "very tough measures" against both clubs. Team Baikal-Energia issued a formal apology to their fans on the club's official site. "We're sorry to have succumbed to the provocation," the club statement said. "We'd like to offer our excuse in public to our fans, especially those who came to support us in this match."