Igor Akinfeev wasn't allowed to take goal kick on a pile of snow this weekend

Igor Akinfeev failed in his attempts to take a goal-kick on a small heap of snow during Sunday's Russian Premier League clash between CSKA Moscow and FC Rostov.

The 37-year-old goalkeeper featured for Vladimir Fedotov's side as goals from Fyodor Chalov and Victor Mendez sealed all three points on a bitterly cold afternoon in Russia's capital.

In fact, temperatures plummeted to -5 degrees on Sunday afternoon, with ground staff at the VEB Arena working tirelessly to clear the snow ahead of kick-off.

The pitch was eventually deemed playable and Akinfeev, who has spent his entire 20-year professional career at CSKA, tried to take advantage of the wintry conditions.

After creating a heap of snow using his hands, the Russian placed the ball on top of the mound to try and get some leverage on his goal-kick.

🇷🇺❄️ Meanwhile in Russia, Igor Akinfeev tries to take a goal kick purposefully on a pad of snow! 😂 pic.twitter.com/atXPtigA0W

— EuroFoot (@eurofootcom) December 3, 2023

But moments later, Akinfeev was reminded of the rules by referee Rafael Shafeev, who told the experienced goalkeeper to get rid of his ingenious creation.

So why did the referee blow his whistle? Australian official Jason Wright once explained why players cannot use a kicking aid during a game.

"No player may use a kicking aid like a 'tee' during the match," he said on the AskTheRef forum.

"It is also illegal for a player to make a mound out of dirt, or even to scuff up the ground by digging his heels in to make a little raised patch for the ball to rest on.

"Strictly speaking, either of the latter acts should result in a caution (yellow card) for making unauthorised marks on the pitch."

Wright added: "Kicking tees and the like are against the 'spirit of the game' (risk factor aside) and allow the players an unfair disadvantage."

Here's how social media reacted to Akinfeev's plan.

One said: "This is why I used to buy Igor Akinfeev at every opportunity on FM back in the day," while another commented: "I miss football being fun just a little bit."

A third added: "Ref tells him he can’t do it. Would be interested to see if there is actually anything in the rules forbidding this."

CSKA Moscow's latest win helped them climb to fifth in the Russian Premier League table. FC Rostov, meanwhile, are just four points clear of the relegation zone.