While captain Andrey Arshavin refused to comment, the twins were angered by the allegations made by "The Man and Law" program last Thursday.

“I have heard that the Berezutsky brothers are trying to defend their honor in court. I am afraid that in our country Aleksey and Vasiliy will have little chance of victory – but if they were in England they would have won with 100% possibility. But I wish them success, as it would make a precedent, which for some would be a good lesson for the future. It seems to me that we [the Russian national team players] are deliberately drawn into those wrangles, which will do nothing but harm to the footballers. Our task remains the same – play football,” Andrey Arshavin told Sport-Express newspaper.

It claimed some of the players were seen drinking and smoking in a Moscow bar before their home game against Slovenia in the playoffs.

Russia won that game 2-1, but failed to qualify for the finals after a 1-0 defeat in the away leg, which invoked heavy criticism at home.

The Russian Football Union has also written an official letter to First Channel questioning the credibility of footage they aired.