The referee scandal around the first round match of the Russian Premier League (RPL) "Spartak" - "Sochi" does not subside two days after the meeting. This time, an association of red-and-white veterans in the person of Oleg Romantsev, Rinat Dasaev, Sergei Rodionov and others decided to intervene in the conflict.
The ex-players turned to the President of the Russian Football Union (RFU), Alexander Dyukov, with a request to dismiss Vasily Kazartsev and Alexei Eskov, who made a number of controversial decisions in the match against Sochi, as well as the head of the VAR system implementation project Leonid Kaloshin, from work for life.
“We cannot call what is happening otherwise than a shame. This is a spit towards not only Spartak fans, but also all football fans in our country, ”the collective letter says.
The second part of the statement is addressed to the owner of Spartak Leonid Fedun, who after the match announced that the team would withdraw from the RPL. And although later it was reported that the leadership of the RFU persuaded him not to do this, the team's veterans decided to pay attention to these loud words.
“We understand that you are worried about Spartak with all your heart. However, we ask you to be more restrained and to translate the dialogue with the RFU into a constructive channel. You are one of us. You have the authority to help us get through this trial together, ”they added.
Spartak itself supported the demands of the veterans. It is worth noting that its representatives have already applied to the Expert Judicial Commission (EJC) of the RFU. According to media reports, the club demands the punishment of those responsible. In this regard, it is assumed that Kaloshin may indeed lose his post.
The night before, the scandal was first commented on by the main characters - Kazartsev and Eskov. The chief referee of the match said that he did not consider it an obvious mistake to appoint a second penalty kick against Spartak, and the VAR-assistant assured that he acted in accordance with the protocol and had no right to protest this decision.
“I would like to address the media and public figures. Gentlemen, think about what you are doing in the media space. Come to your senses. Russians, let's be human, ”Kazartsev said in a live broadcast on Match TV.
In addition, the recording of the negotiations of the referee team was released while watching the episode with the defender of the red and white Samuel Gigot. The arbitrators agreed that he knocked down the Sochi footballer Anatoly Nemchenko. Eskov confirmed the violation, and Kazartsev appointed 11-meter.
The general director of "Spartak" Shamil Gazizov reacted to the reaction of the judges. He admitted that their words did not clarify the situation.
“We saw yesterday how everything is happening. My feeling that this is happening is not at a very good level. To be honest, they only confused me more, "- quotes Gazizov" Championship ".
Both judges have already received an invitation to pass a lie detector test. At the same time, it is not yet known whether it will take place, since the RFU regulations do not stipulate that polygraph interrogation is mandatory for arbitrators. At the same time, Andrei Sozin, a member of the ethics committee of the football union, spoke out sharply against this procedure.
“Now they are being called for a lie detector. Gentlemen, are we living in 1937? They shouldn't go there! This is not illegal - it is immoral! What do they want to prove that Kazartsev and Eskov received the money? Or that they want to kill Spartak? " - Sozin was indignant.
Meanwhile, the experts will continue a virtual discussion about the actions of the referee and the reaction to them of "Spartak". Some supported the club's management in their desire to punish those responsible, while others advise the red and white not to get hung up on refereeing. For example, ex-midfielder Alexander Mostovoy noted that Kazartsev and Eskov should be held accountable for their actions. At the same time, according to him, they did not deserve life suspension.
“It's too loud. They are real people who can make mistakes. Of course, the judges had to muster up the courage and apologize to the Spartak fans, ”Mostovoy is sure.
Coach Valery Gazzaev adheres to a different point of view. In his opinion, there is no conspiracy against Spartak in Russian football, but the quality of refereeing is really low. That is why the referees of the match must suffer the most severe punishment, which will be a lesson for everyone else.
“Pay attention, every round we have gross referee errors, because of which we are not discussing the quality of football, the skill of the players and the work of coaches, but only the decisions of the referees. This indicates a poor quality work of the referee. And more recently, two video observers have come to the aid of the chief referee and his assistants, but they cannot cope either. It means that the time has come to think about their qualifications, "Gazzaev told Sport-Express.
In turn, the owner of Sochi, Roman Rotenberg, sided with the referees. He noted that everyone has the right to make mistakes, so it is wrong to blame them for everything.
“Last season, in the first round, we also played against Spartak, and there we were not given a 100% penalty, plus Gigot was scoring, leaning on the opponent's shoulders. I told my team then: “I don’t care about the refereeing, it doesn’t matter what goes on there. You have to play so that there are no questions, you score a goal - there will be no questions. There is no need to blame the refereeing, you need to go out and win so that no one has any questions. If it doesn’t work, then you are weak, it means that you couldn’t score without questions ”. And to look for something in refereeing ... I myself am from sports, in martial arts it was all the time. This is football, why refereeing, take the guy and not for anything? " - quotes Rotenberg RIA Novosti.