“It was not possible to realize all our plans”: Egorov resigned as head of the refereeing and inspection department of the RFU

Alexander Egorov resigned as head of the Department of Refereeing and Inspection (DSI). This was reported in the press service of the Russian Football Union (RFU). According to the organization, the former leader did it "of his own free will."

“I decided to leave the position of head of the DSI. I believe that a lot of work has been done by the department, and it was not possible to realize all our plans. I am sure that the judicial reform will be successful, we will be able to bring our referees to a new level. I would like to thank my colleagues for their joint work and trust, ”Yegorov said in an official statement.

Also, the dismissal of Egorov was commented on by the head of the RFU, Alexander Dyukov. He thanked him for his work and said that he took an active part in the development of judicial reform, which provides for the division of the DSI into two independent departments.

“I believe that his (Egorova. - RT ) experience will be used by the RFU in further work, including for the development of football in the regions,” Dyukov said.

Rumors about a possible resignation of Yegorov went throughout the season. Even during the previous championship, the level of refereeing at the matches of the Russian Premier League repeatedly provoked not only questions, but also outrage from the representatives of the clubs. And this season, dissatisfaction with the work of referees has reached its climax. Almost no championship round was complete without major scandals, which provoked harsh criticism of the head of the DSI.

For the first time, clubs openly opposed Yegorov in September 2019. At the general meeting, 14 RPL representatives expressed no confidence in the head of the Department of Refereeing and Inspection, as reported by the head of the league Sergey Pryadkin. However, no real steps were taken, and Yegorov remained at his post.

Subsequently, the situation around the referees only grew tense, which was facilitated by a number of their ambiguous decisions in key matches of the rounds. So, a wide discussion was caused by the work of Vasily Kazartsev at a meeting between Dynamo and Rostov, as well as Mikhail Vilkov at the Zenit game with CSKA. The latter even earned a suspension, however, this did not stop him from becoming responsible for the VAR system in the derby of the two capitals between Zenit and Spartak.

The last straw was the incident at the end of the match of the 19th round of the RPL between Krasnodar and CSKA. Kazartsev was again in the spotlight, whose ambiguous refereeing again provoked anger from one of the clubs. As a result, the head coach of the army, Viktor Goncharenko, was fined two games for a mate addressed to the chief referee, and President Yevgeny Giner called Yegorov “a dead villain” and urged him to “shoot himself”. For this, the functionary was suspended for 12 months (nine conditionally) from any football activity, and was fined a million rubles. True, the sentence was subsequently mitigated.

According to media reports, in the near future, the RFU will announce changes to the DSI. It is noted that the composition of the leaders will include Sergey Fursa, Sergey Zuev and Yuri Baskakov. The first of them will oversee inspectors, the second will be responsible for the current arbitrators, and the third will be involved in the training of young personnel.

In the football world, the news about Yegorov’s resignation was mostly positively received. The former president of the Moscow Spartak Andrei Chervichenko said that the RFU made the right decision, but noted that this was done with a serious delay.

“Yegorov’s resignation is untimely; This had to be done much earlier. The events in the first five rounds of the RPL have already shown complete disgrace in the judicial matter. What confidence can there be when in the championship one scandal is replaced by another, and one of the oldest presidents of RPL clubs openly speaks of corruption in the judiciary? To what boiling point did the teams need to be brought in so that their leaders would say such things without thinking about sanctions. I hope that with the new leadership everything will return to a civilized framework, ”said Chervichenko RT.

At the same time, he expressed the opinion that the new head of the RFU Judicial Committee Ashot Khachaturyants is able to bring the body into proper shape.

“As I understand it, the corps will be led by Khachaturyants. A rich man who is unlikely to be exchanged for all sorts of illegal things. I think his presence will be enough to restore order, ”Chervichenko said.

However, he expressed dissatisfaction with the fact that Baskakov may be among the heads of the department.

“I am fine with the candidates of Zuev and Fursa, I’m not sure about Baskakov. Nevertheless, he and Yegorov are representatives of one company, the judiciary. Of course, there must be a person who understands this matter. But I adhere to the principle that the humpback grave will be corrected, ”Chervichenko concluded.

In turn, the president of the Yekaterinburg Urals, Grigory Ivanov, expressed the hope that this failure would not be a “big injury” for Yegorov.

“He just finished judging, he worked with the current arbitrators and lived at the training camp. Perhaps he did not have the rigidity to ask them. I think that in the RFU they will find another position for him, he can prepare young personnel. Egorov is able to return, but you need to gain experience. He was appointed early, it was necessary that he be not the first person, ”the Championship quotes Ivanova.

Nevertheless, he expressed doubt that the successor Egorov will succeed in correcting the situation.

“It will be better now, it's hard to say. This is a firing post. Some team will always be unhappy with something. If someone loses, he sees a speck in the eye, and whoever won is satisfied. Who is needed in this post now? Ashot Khachaturyants seemed to me a very efficient person, God forbid, that he would succeed. It’s better for the arbiter not to come. He is an experienced person, he can lead, ”concluded Ivanov.

The general director of Ufa, Shamil Gazizov, expressed the opinion that Egorov was trying to correct the situation.

“This is the decision of the RFU and, perhaps, Yegorov himself. He tried to do something - at some stage it turned out worse, at some better. Time will tell, but this is a position that you won’t wish anyone, ”said Gazizov.

Zenit CEO Alexander Medvedev declined to comment on Yegorov’s activities as head of the Refereeing and Inspection Department, but explained what led to his resignation.

“I can only say that within the framework of the democratic procedures that the RFU began to implement in our football, the voice of the people was organized in this decision. I hope that after the last one has been found, positive changes will begin, ”Sport-Express quotes Medvedev.

Former judge of the International Football Federation (FIFA) Sergey Khusainov expressed the opinion that Yegorov’s resignation was not a surprise.

“The public was very indignant at what was happening in our refereeing. Therefore, the decision was brewing. Egorov failed his work. But the system is deeply affected by the personnel crisis. Therefore, it is not a fact that it will be better. Whoever comes in his place is likely that nothing will change. It was not Alexander who created this system, he worked as best he could. I didn’t manage, it happens. The only thing that can be criticized for is that he was looking for positive errors, excuses, ”said Khusainov.