Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov stepped down on Monday as the president of the Terek Grozny football club, citing his “heavy workload.”

Terek, who fired Dutch legend Ruud Gullit as coach earlier this year, had a poor season, failing to make the play-offs for the title and European places.

“The club requires greater attention and daily work on the strengthening of the team…so I am handing over my position as president of Terek. I am doing this exclusively due to my heavy workload,” Kadyrov said on his official website.

Kadyrov, a former militant who has been accused of fostering a personality cult in the republic, had been president of Terek since 2004. He inherited the post from his father Akhamd Kadyrov, who was killed that year in a bomb attack at Terek’s old stadium.