No derby today. The Riga FC boycott is on: the club won’t play Sunday’s Virslīga finale against champions RFS, and the federation says that can’t be justified.
Riga FC announced on Saturday that its team will not take the field for the last-round match of the 2026 Tonybet Virslīga against RFS, set for Sunday 8 November in Riga. The Latvian Football Federation (LFF) has called the game off and says its Disciplinary Committee will look at the case at its next meeting.
Key facts
- The match: Riga FC v RFS, round 36 of 36, Sunday 8 November, called off
- Riga FC’s reasons: the game no longer matters for the table, plus what the club calls a season of systematic refereeing errors
- LFF’s view: the decision is unacceptable and can’t be justified
- Possible penalty: a 0–3 technical defeat under LFF rules, pending the Disciplinary Committee
- Final table: RFS champions, Riga FC second, Auda third
Why did Riga FC refuse to play RFS?
In its official statement, Riga FC admits the match has no sporting weight left. The real reason, it says, is a “crisis of fairness”. The club claims “systematic and gross refereeing errors” shaped the final standings all year, and that it and other Virslīga clubs complained to the LFF, verbally and in writing, only to meet “complete indifference”.
“Our silence or taking part in tomorrow’s match would mean accepting injustice,” the club wrote, apologising to fans who’d been waiting for the derby.
The title was settled a round early. Riga FC drew 0–0 with already-relegated Ogre United while RFS beat Grobiņa 3–0, Baltic Football News reports. A year ago it was the other way round: Riga FC were champions, and RFS still turned up for the final derby and won it 4–3.
What happens to Riga FC now?
The LFF says it can’t make sense of the club’s motive or its reasoning. “Taking part in the championship and the status of last year’s champions mean responsibility to opponents, fans and Latvian football as a whole,” the federation said. LFF spokesman Toms Ārmanis told LETA the Disciplinary Committee could meet next week. Under point 4.12.3 of the LFF disciplinary rules, a club that refuses to play at the set date, venue and time is given a 0–3 technical defeat. The committee hasn’t ruled yet.
RFS head coach Viktors Morozs isn’t buying the protest either. “This year we earned our win on the pitch with hard work. That’s why I can’t respect the decision not to play,” he wrote on Instagram.
Riga FC still have big nights ahead: the Latvian Cup final on 20 November and a UEFA Conference League home game against Atalanta on 10 December. The club plays at Skonto Stadium, the ground Estonian developer Invego has agreed to buy, with football promised five more years there.
Next stop for Riga FC: a disciplinary hearing, then a cup final.
Photo: Skonto Stadium from E. Melngaiļa iela, July 2019, Olgerts V / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
