Vasily Utkin, a legend of Russian sports journalism, died at the age of 53.
Egrisi, an amateur football club owned by Utkin, was the first to report the sad news, RIA Novosti writes.
“It pains us very much to write this post. But it's true. Vasily is no longer with us,” says the media club’s Telegram channel.
Presumably, the cause of death was heart problems. Shortly before the tragedy, Utkin was hospitalized in a Moscow hospital.
Since 1994, Utkin has worked on television, hosted many football programs and commentated on matches on NTV-Plus, NTV and other Russian channels. In 2017, he announced his retirement from commentating.
For his professionalism, Utkin was twice awarded the prestigious TEFI award in the category “Best Sports Commentator” (2004, 2005).