Recent news from the Russian Premier League reports a case of excessive trust in AI. Robert Moreno, former head coach of Spain’s national team and former manager of FC Sochi, has been accused of relying too heavily on ChatGPT during his tenure at the Russian Premier League club to create training plans, set starting lineups, and even arrange the team’s travel logistics, leading to poor results and ultimately relegation.
Former Russian Premier League coach dismissed for over-relying on ChatGPT
According to Andrey Orlov, the former sports director of Sochi football club, Moreno’s reliance on ChatGPT was staggering. The most bizarre incident occurred during the team’s away trip to Khabarovsk. Due to Russia’s vast territory, traveling to the Far Eastern city of Khabarovsk was one of the most grueling long-distance journeys in the league, posing a huge challenge to players’ circadian rhythms and physical recovery. The former coach Moreno claimed at the time that “everything has been planned with ChatGPT.”
When the club management reviewed this AI-generated schedule, they found that following ChatGPT’s suggested itinerary would leave players unable to sleep or rest for a staggering 28 hours, with a training session scheduled at 7 AM two days before the match. Although management intervened and adjusted the parameters after discovering the issue, the coach ultimately still partially followed the AI-designed framework.
AI-chosen striker with zero goals in 10 matches
Beyond the logistics disaster, Orlov went further, accusing Moreno of using ChatGPT to make core tactical decisions. Allegedly, Moreno also relied on ChatGPT to select strikers during the summer transfer window. He input data for Pisarsky (Vladimir Pisarsky), Meleshin (Pavel Meleshin), and Shushenachev (Artur Shushenachev) from Wyscout into ChatGPT, and Shushenachev was selected as the best striker. The player chosen by ChatGPT ultimately failed to score in ten matches.
Before coaching Sochi, Moreno served as Spain’s interim head coach in 2019, before being promoted to permanent head coach, under whom the team went unbeaten in nine matches. After taking charge of Russian Football National League club FC Sochi, Moreno became heavily reliant on ChatGPT, leading to his dismissal by Sochi in September 2025. He managed just one point from seven Russian First Division matches, and the team was ultimately relegated. This story also tells us that AI is not all-powerful—it has no eyes, does not participate in player training, and has no real interaction with the players. Results calculated purely from cold numbers and statistics will ultimately differ vastly from real-world performance. (That said, it’s still mind-boggling how any coach could be this foolish.)
Source: KOCPC Chinese