A mass brawl involving athletes and spectators broke out on 11 January at the North Caucasus Federal District junior freestyle wrestling championship held in Grozny.
According to published video footage and reports by regional Telegram channels, the conflict occurred after the end of a bout between the declared winner, North Ossetian wrestler David Vaniev and defeated Chechen athlete Turpal Alkhoev.
After the result was announced, a verbal altercation broke out between the athletes. The video shows Alkhoev shouting at his opponent and kicking him. In response, Vaniev gestured, suggesting that they continue settling the matter off the mat. Following this, the verbal confrontation escalated into a physical clash.
Other athletes and spectators who were nearby intervened, with around 30 people taking part in the scuffle. Some of those present tried to separate the fighters, while others joined the conflict. The brawl was stopped within a short period of time, and no serious injuries were reported, according to local Telegram channels.
The tournament, which involved around 300 athletes from seven regions of the North Caucasus Federal District and was due to continue until 12 January, was interrupted.
The president of the Russian Wrestling Federation, Mikhail Mamiashvili, told the Russian state news agency TASS that the incident would be reviewed by disciplinary bodies. According to him, measures would be taken on the basis of the commission’s protocol. He also said that the federation’s disciplinary bodies ‘work quite effectively’ and that what happened ‘will not be left without attention’.
In addition, Mamiashvili criticised the referees, who, in his view, failed to influence the situation in time and prevent the escalation of the conflict. He also described the actions of the Chechen wrestler as a ‘provocation’.
No official decisions on sanctions against those involved in the brawl had been taken at the time of publication. It was reported that a meeting of the Russian Wrestling Federation’s disciplinary commission was due to take place ‘in the near future’.
Akhmat Kadyrov, the 20-year-old acting deputy chair of the Chechen government, the republic’s minister for physical culture and sport, and the son of Chechen Head Ramzan Kadyrov, said in his Telegram channel that the media and social media users were exaggerating the scale of what had happened.
He described the incident as ‘a minor clash between two athletes’ and said that there had been no mass brawl. According to his version, the conflict was local and was quickly resolved on the spot, and the competition allegedly continued as planned and was successfully completed. Kadyrov also said that a preventive conversation had been held with the instigator of the conflict and called on people not to give the incident an interethnic character.
Similar incidents at sporting competitions involving athletes from regions of the North Caucasus occur regularly. In May 2025, a mass brawl broke out at the Russian student wrestling championship in Vladikavkaz.
In North Ossetia, a martial arts championship in 2024 ended in a mass brawl.
In 2023, a fight occurred between athletes from the North Ossetian and Ingush teams at a boxing competition in Stavropol Krai.
Elizaveta Chukharova
