Paul Ashworth said that the management of Rostov asked him to lose the match in the Russian league with Rubin Kazan. Ashworth, who worked in England, Russia and Latvia and Nigeria as a coach, it was the only case in his career, when he was approached with such request.

English specialist said that after receiving orders of important people from the club, he talked with players and said he is not planning to lose the match. Many players, including goalkeeper Andrei Chichkin, defender Nikolai Shirshov, midfielder Mikhail Osinov and forward Iso Kanenda supported him and refused to lose the match.

The match between Rubin and Rostov, about which told Ashworth, was held in April 2005 and ended with 1-1 draw. It was the fifth match of the league and Rostov was holding last place in the table. The draw did not allow Rostov to improve its position after the draw.

Paul Ashworth, worked as sporting director of Rostov, worked as acting head coach for a short time and was replaced with Valeriy Petrakov. Rostov finished on the 15th place in the league in 2005, while Rubin Kazan was fourth, which allowed them to book place in the UEFA Cup (now Europa League).