“Fair Decision”: Russian Cup semi-final “Zenit” - “Spartak” will be held in St. Petersburg

"It remains only to put Vilkov to judge ..."

The semifinal match of the Russian Football Cup between Zenit and Spartak will be held in St. Petersburg. This was announced by the RFU in its Telegram channel. The Russian Football Union admitted that a mistake was made in the tournament regulations for the 2019/20 season.

“When determining a home club, the principle that was applied in the tournament before the 2019/20 season will be used. Then the team that spent fewer games in their stadium became the host of the meeting. According to this principle, they held the game Khimki - Torpedo, the RFU said in a statement.

The union also approved the rules for the remaining matches of the tournament. In the Russian Cup, teams, as in the RPL, will be allowed to make five substitutions. At the same time, three of them can be spent in the game time, and two more during the break. And in extra time, if necessary, it will be possible to implement the sixth.

The decision to hold the match between Zenit and Spartk in St. Petersburg caused a sharp rejection from the owner of the red-white Leonid Fedun. He called the incident absolutely wrong.

“I voted against. A large number of people abstained. It is clear that the “Zenith” heavyweight in football. Therefore, any requests are being squeezed. Unfortunately, I had no doubts here. And then it remains only to put Mikhail Vilkov to judge ... And then everything will be fine with them, ”Sportun quotes Fedun.

In turn, the President of the RFU and the former chairman of the Zenit board of directors, Alexander Dyukov, said that only one member of the executive committee opposed this decision, and several more people, including himself, abstained.

“For ten years, the club has become the owner of the field since the 1/8 final, which has played fewer matches on its field before. The Executive Committee believes that in this case this principle must be respected, it was applied to the Khimki-Torpedo match. This decision allows us to preserve the integrity of the tournament, plus, in our opinion, it is fairer, ”Dyukova quotes the“ Championship ”.

According to the head of the RFU, Spartak proposed a draw to determine the owner of the field, and the option of holding a match in a neutral stadium was not supported. He also reacted to Fedun's emotional statement.

“You understand very well that decisions are not forged in favor of Zenit. If this were so, then the championship would have been completed, and gold medals were hung on the chest of Zenit players. This comment Fedun on the verge. We have a judicial committee, we have an ethics committee, but for my part, I’m not going to take the initiative, ”added Dyukov.

The match between Zenit and Spartak will take place on July 19, and the final will be held on the 25th. Initially, the decisive meeting of the tournament was to be taken by Yekaterinburg, however, in connection with the pandemic of the coronavirus, the RFU will decide on the venue later.

On the eve of the derby, the teams will be on an equal footing. Both four days before him, on July 15, they will hold home matches of the 29th round of the RPL. Zenit will take Orenburg, and Spartak will take Akhmat. Thus, red and white will not have to travel too much distance on the way to the Northern capital. In addition, with a high degree of probability, both teams will solve their tournament problems before the 28th round. 

“Gaps” in the regulations and Fedun’s proposal

In previous years, the right to accept an opponent in the Cup of Russia, starting from the 1/8 finals, was given to the team that had fewer games at home. However, in the tournament regulations this season the rules are not clearly defined. Matches 1/16 finals of the RPL team were away. And at stage 1/8, in the case of intersection of RPL clubs, a draw was used. Guidance on the definition of hosts in other stages was absent. 

In anticipation of the quarter-finals, the RFU also held a draw to determine the home team in those matches where the Premier League teams met among themselves, since at that time they all had one game at home and away. So, “Spartak” received the right to accept CSKA, and “Akhmat” - “Zenith”.

But when determining the owner of the field in the confrontation between the representatives of the FNL Khimki and Torpedo, the RFU was in a difficult position, because both teams had played two games at home at that time. As a result, the union decided to organize a meeting in Khimki, starting the countdown between the departures and receptions from the 1/16 final.

As soon as it became known that Zenit and Spartak would meet in the semifinals of the tournament, serious controversy erupted around the venue of the important match. For example, Fedun called for determining the owner with the help of a draw.

“Since this paragraph is not specified in the regulations, I would like the draw to be determined by the hosts of the semifinal match,” Sport-Express quotes Fedun as saying.

In turn, the head coach of St. Petersburg Sergei Semak said that when compiling the RFU regulations, an elementary mistake was made.

“I think it will be adjusted and we will play by the rules that everyone has known for a long time. According to which this Cup of Russia was held and is held, ”the club’s official website quotes the specialist.

“It was obvious to everyone that the regulations needed to be changed”

After the executive committee of the RFU, Semak was supported by the former striker of Zenit and the Russian team Alexander Kerzhakov. In his opinion, the Russian Football Union did the right thing.

“In the Cup of Russia, the team that has played fewer matches at home has always become the owner of the field. This is logical. I think this decision is fair. I do not think that this is a verdict in favor of Spartak, Zenit or any other team. It was obvious to everyone that the regulations needed to be changed, ”Kerzhakov said in an interview with RT.

At the same time, the best scorer in the history of Petersburgers suggested that everyone should be fairly loyal to the decision of the RFU, since the home field factor is very conditional after the coronavirus pandemic.

“There will not be many fans in the stands to talk about the“ 12th player factor. ” I think he will not play a decisive role in the match between Zenit and Spartak. Nevertheless, I think Petersburgers are favorites. I said before that they have a better chance of winning. It is not so important where the match will take place, ”added Kerzhakov.

But the head coach of Khimki and former Spartak footballer Sergei Yuran believes that changing the rules ahead of the semifinals was not worth it.

“Why are you now preoccupied with this problem? The season is over - make changes. I think this is wrong. Everyone should be in equal conditions, then there will be no unnecessary conversations, ”the specialist complained.

According to him, the leadership of Spartak should challenge the verdict of the RFU, if such an opportunity exists.

“If I were the club leader, I would have a desire to ask the question:“ Why was this done before the semi-finals? ” After all, “Spartak” has a chance to get into European competition. Fedun's words? This is his opinion. If he expresses it, probably it has some ground under him, ”said Juran.

At the same time, the coach, like Kerzhakov, agreed that the home field in the current situation would not give a special handicap to Zenit.

“The decision to hold the match in St. Petersburg will not fundamentally affect the result. Still, the stadium will not be 100% full and the atmosphere will be a bit different. It will look more like a control meeting. I think there is no favorite in this confrontation, ”summed up Juran.

Member of the Executive Committee of the RFU and President of the Moscow Football Federation Sergey Anokhin also believes that the presence of a minimum number of fans at Gazprom Arena will not affect the nature of the meeting.

“If a decision were made on the draw, a dangerous precedent would turn out. The fate of the venue would be decided by chance. With this option, the club can constantly play away, the fans will suffer. This time the stadium will not be completely filled, and Zenit will not receive a special advantage. Unfortunately, an error in the regulations led to this situation. But of all the possible solutions, the most correct one was chosen, ”Anokhin explained.