“There is some inconsistency”: why the end of the RPL season should not turn into a farce

The first round of the Russian football championship after a pause could not do without excesses. Two out of eight matches were actually thwarted after cases of coronavirus infection were recorded in Rostov and Dynamo. According to the new medical regulations, the main team had to quarantine and take part in matches with Sochi and Krasnodar, respectively, they could not.

However, the same problem of the two clubs had different solutions. Sochi did not agree to reschedule the meeting with Rostov, and the yellow and blue were forced to send young academics to the away match, who were crushingly defeated with a score of 1:10. As a result, the team, which ranks fourth in the standings, dropped to the last line in the RPL for conceded goals. Dynamo got the opportunity to hold a match with Krasnodar on July 19.

The situation has evolved differently due to the positions of rivals of the two clubs, now forced to quarantine. Sochi shifted responsibility for what happened to Rostov and announced that it was not possible to hold the match another day. Club president Boris Rotenberg, after a sensational meeting, said that no club would supposedly go for it.

“Nobody says, but what happened in Rostov, where 10 days before the match there were already the first cases, and why then they didn’t limit those players, and it was necessary to do this a week later, when the infection was massive? No one is safe from this, but we don’t have to shift the problem to us. I think that any club that would be in our place would also refuse to transfer, since there was an agreement. If we agreed, the rest would have turned to the Premier League to look for such dates, ”TASS quoted Rotenberg.

However, in the case of Dynamo, a solution was found. The club agreed with Krasnodar to postpone the match to another day, and this decision was supported at a meeting of the bureau of the executive committee of the RFU.

“We promptly received an official response from the leadership of Krasnodar that we agreed to postpone the calendar match of the RPL 23 round from the scheduled date on June 21 to the reserve day. Understanding that such a decision could not be simple, both purely from a football point of view and in the light of the resonant events of recent days, we want to express our sincere gratitude to the president of Krasnodar, Sergey Galitsky, for a gesture of goodwill, for human and sporting nobility ", - declared in Dynamo.

At the same time, the RPL did not participate in resolving disputes, although the current regulations say that it is the leadership of the Premier League that should decide on the postponement of matches in case of force majeure. The league said they did not consider coronavirus outbreaks to be such, so the question of holding or reschedule matches came down to a mutual agreement between the two clubs. To prematurely end the season because of two teams whose players were infected with the coronavirus, in the RFU and RPL, they also do not intend to.

According to the former head coach of Rubin Rinat Bilyaletdinov, the RPL must establish clear rules for postponing matches and oblige the clubs to follow them, taking into account their position too.

“The question arises, why on the reserve day it was impossible to postpone the match between“ Rostov ”and“ Sochi ”? I want to know the answer to it. This game could also be postponed. There is some inconsistency here. But, probably, it is necessary to proceed from the consent of the clubs. Their position on this issue is crucial. Or it is necessary to set strict limits in the regulations, but everything cannot be foreseen. In my opinion, everything should be prescribed, and the clubs must comply with the requirements, ”said Bilyaletdinov in a conversation with RT.

The former player of Spartak and the Russian national team, Alexander Mostovoy, is sure that the matches of the teams in which the coronavirus has occurred should be rescheduled, since it is not practical to put in place of the main team of understudies.

“When it became known about the problems of Rostov, it was difficult to find some kind of common opinion, because everyone has their own rights and peculiarities. The championship is now taking place in a short time. I was not in favor of letting the guys out and scoring 15 goals for them. It was unpleasant to look at it. Several days passed, and another team fell into a similar situation. "Krasnodar" went forward, and, I believe, did the right thing. But there will still be matches ahead, who will Rostov play? If this is possible, then the games must be transferred, and if not, then do not finish off the young players, ”the expert noted.

The situation with “Rostov” and “Dynamo” was complicated by the fact that both teams solve serious problems at the end of the season and fight for trips to European cups. But what happened can leave the wards of Valery Karpin without them, while Muscovites will continue to claim to be in the Europa League.

“If“ Rostov ”plays a couple of times as young men, then they will overtake him and he will be left without European cups. They need to think about it. Dynamo still has chances, it has one game in reserve. Blue and white still remain quite real candidates for European competitions, ”Bileliatdinov is sure.

According to Mostovoy, Dynamo will also remain the loser from the postponement of matches. He believes that the teams to get into the European Cups certainly need to go on the field and earn points now.

Dynamo did not go to the match with Krasnodar, and the next game in three days, and no one knows what the situation will be then. The chances for Eurocups will increase for those who play. This is Lokomotiv, Spartak, other teams, ”said the former footballer.

The question of the participation of Rostov and Dynamo in the next matches remains open, since players must comply with the quarantine for 14 days. During this time, three rounds of the Russian championship will take place, and there are no more reserve dates for the transfer. And even when the players get permission to return to the field, they will have to urgently return the form after a two-week absence of training.

Mitigation of the current medical regulations could resolve the inconsistencies, so that not all players who had contact with an infected team member, but only those who passed positive tests for coronavirus, went to quarantine. This practice is common, for example, in England.

If such rules were applied in the RPL, then both Rostov and Dynamo would retain most of the players to participate in the matches and would not be interested in the transfer. According to Sport Express, Muscovites have already made a proposal to the RFU and Rospotrebnadzor. But, according to Mostovoy, softening the rules will only increase the risk of infection within teams.

“I used to think why close the whole team when two or three are on treatment, while others are playing. But you can catch the virus when training is in progress. It may not immediately appear, but in ten days. There is still a risk, ”Mostovoy said.

At the same time, Bilyaletdinov is confident that negative tests should allow a specific player to enter the field.

“A person who was quarantined and not ill, has the right to play. If a person was quarantined, grabbed something and got sick, if he passed the PCR and antibody tests twice, then he is also equated with a person who does not pose a threat to others. He can play too, ”concluded the ex-coach of Rubin.