"Not satisfied with the performance of the national team": Dyukov on the CAS decision, failure in European competitions and Cherchesov's statements

"We see no reason to refuse to host the Beach Soccer World Cup"

- How did the RFU Executive Committee assess the performance of the Russian national teams in 2020?

- The executive committee heard the report of the coaches on their performance in the outgoing year.

If we talk about the youth team, then it certainly performed successfully.

For the first time in eight years we made our way to the final of the European Championship.

The women's team continues to fight for the Euro, with play-offs coming in April.

If we talk about the performance of the Russian national team, then Stanislav Cherchesov has already given an assessment.

We cannot be satisfied with the performance of the first team.

It had a good start, two wins, but the last six matches were unsuccessful.

The League of Nations promotion challenge was not met.

- How will the latest decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (

CAS) affect the performance of the Russian national team at the World Cup in 2022?

- First of all, you need to enter this tournament.

I haven't seen a complete CAS solution yet.

First of all, you need to familiarize yourself with its full text, and then conduct additional consultations with FIFA in order to assess its impact on the performance of the national team, if we pass the selection and play in Qatar.

Only after that it will be possible to give any comments.

- And what is the fate of the Beach Soccer World Cup, which is to be held next year in Moscow, in connection with this decision?

- We have not received the full text of the CAS yet.

When we receive it, we will analyze it.

So far, we do not see any grounds for a decision to refuse to hold this tournament.

The reason for our confidence is that the decision to host the championship was made a long time ago, and serious preparation work has been done.

As far as I know, in this case the World Cup should be held.

- How can you comment on the disqualification of referee Maxim Matyunin and the executive director of Chaika Oleg Bayan for organizing a match fix?

- Law enforcement agencies established the fact of bribery of Matyunin by Bayan.

This was established during the investigation of the criminal case.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs sent a submission to the RFU about this, and it formed the basis for the decision of the Control and Disciplinary Commission.

Matyunin violated the agreement with the RFU, which clearly states that the judge is prohibited from accepting funds.

As soon as such information appeared, the FTC held a meeting and made a decision, because such actions are unacceptable.

The decision was made in accordance with the current disciplinary regulations.

The football authorities have the right to act without decisions of civil courts, because we are responsible for protecting the game from dishonest actions, we are asked for the quality of refereeing.

We must meet these expectations and cannot wait for a court decision every time, but at the same time we act on the basis of verified information.

- At the executive committee of the RFU, the budget for the next year was discussed.

What indicators would the union like to achieve next year?

- The final budget will be adopted in February 2021 due to the fact that some questions remain open.

One of them is targeted allocations of bookmakers for the development of sports.

More clarity about the budget will be in January.

We expect income and expenses to rise, which will allow more spending on reserve training programs and the development of youth football.

We will be ready to announce the figures in January, when the budget is approved.

Despite COVID-19, we were able to maintain the existing agreements.

We are at the final stage of negotiations with new partners, for which I would like to thank our Board of Trustees.

In general, we expect an increase in revenues next year, and they will be primarily directed to development programs.

- Was the recent interview of Cherchesov discussed at the executive committee, in which he allowed himself, if not impudent, then aggressive behavior towards journalists?

- We know Cherchesov as a harsh and direct person in his judgments.

Somewhere it helps, somewhere it interferes.

It should be taken into account that an emotional experience has been superimposed.

We are all very worried about the performance of the national team.

I ask you to understand it.

Cherchesov definitely does not hold a grudge against any of the journalists.

It's like on the field - there was a skirmish, but this does not mean that you have become enemies.

Some journalists have the task of taking the interlocutor out of the state of comfort in order to get bright, non-trivial answers.

If in that interview there was such a task, then he needs to take a hit if provoked.

- How do you feel about the nomination of Ilya Herkus for the post of President of the National Football League?

- The clubs and the league themselves will choose their new president.

I have known Herkus for a long time and I have a good attitude towards him.

He has been in football for a long time, knows him well, he is a caring and energetic leader.

I think he has a chance.

But the RFU has nothing to do with the election of the leaders of the leagues, this is the decision of the clubs.

- You were nominated as a candidate for the UEFA Executive Committee.

When will the vote take place and what will it give Russian football?

- The nomination of candidates should end on January 2, and the elections will be held at the UEFA conference in April next year.

Of course, the presence of RFU representatives in the UEFA Executive Committee is important for Russian football.

This makes it possible to act more actively and participate in decision-making that will be aimed at the development and functioning of European football.

This will help protect and set aside the interests of Russian football, and provide additional opportunities in this direction.

These opportunities exist now, but it will be possible to participate more actively in the future changes in European football, aimed, among other things, at our development.

"Domestic football does not match modern trends"

- Are there any plans to take any action after the failure of Russian clubs in European competition?

- The management of the clubs consists of experienced managers who are themselves interested in the development of leagues, commercial and sports.

We have our own vision, but we do not consider it right to impose it.

Under the existing agreements on the transfer of rights, clubs have only obligations to timely pay for the transferred rights.

When the agreements are over, in the new agreements we will already formulate our expectations from the development of leagues, but now this is not the case.

As for the changes in the format of club football, we are waiting for the initiative from the clubs.

We are in dialogue and ready to help them.

FNL and PFL are ready for reform, it is quite possible that at the beginning of next year, certain decisions will be made.

RPL regularly considers various formats of the Russian Championship.

Let's hope that some decision will be made.

I have already said that 30 games per season is not enough, given the fact that there are significantly fewer high-intensity games.

- How should RPL become more competitive in the European arena?

- This season two factors worked against the successful performance of the clubs.

The first is the coronavirus.

Those clubs that participated were really sick and did not play all the games in the optimal composition.

Hopefully this is a one-off factor that only took place this season.

Secondly, domestic football is not up to date.

In European competition, clubs meet a different level of resistance, and at home they can afford to play less intensely.

In Europe, even in the middle leagues, we see a completely different dynamic.

In modern football, a lot depends on how the team is organized, how internal interactions are imposed - pressure, counter-pressure, getting out of pressure, and so on.

We need to work in all these areas.

This applies not only to the European Cup teams, but to everyone.

I would not say that something depends directly on the leadership of the league, this is the work of clubs and coaches.

As for our actions, we regularly pay attention to the gap, organize judgments on current trends in football, hold meetings and seminars for coaches, share statistics.

It takes time to change beliefs and principles.

Our second lever is the format of the competition and the increase in the number of matches.

Our opportunities are limited, we do not finance clubs and will not do so, therefore we cannot make management decisions.

We hope that the clubs will nevertheless critically approach the current format of the competition and will contribute to an increase in the intensity of RPL matches.

- In February you will participate in the new presidential elections of the RFU.

What will your program be?

- The program with which I went to the elections in 2019 involves reforms and changes that cannot be implemented in two years.

The program has already been announced, you can see what the RFU is doing.

A very important area for us is youth football and the preparation of the reserve.

We understand that we need to introduce new methods in schools so that they are relevant and used in work.

We followed the path of certification and creation of a system of regional and children's football centers.

Now we have taken control so that training in the centers would be conducted using these methods.

We also want the boys to have regular competitive practice, and most of the matches were held on the principle of "equal plays with equal".

We launched the first and second youth league, reformed the youth championship.

This makes it possible for talented children to play.

- How can you comment on the scandal in the recent match between Sochi and Spartak in the Russian championship?

Are Dmitry Borodin's words racist about Domenico Tedesco?

- The investigation has not yet been completed, the FTC has not made any decision.

I cannot say that I managed to get acquainted with all the details of what happened in the match and after it.

I would refrain from commenting.

Next week, the FTC will finish its work, a meeting on this match will take place, and an assessment will be made of the actions of both the head coach of Spartak and the players and the coaching staff of Sochi.

I want to say that such events do not adorn our football or the league.

They are in principle unacceptable.

I don't know who is to blame, but we have a reputation loss for the league.

- What is happening with Tambov and the latest events connected with it?

- I don't know anything about the team's move to Saransk.

There are problems with the stadium, we went to meet the club after the requests of the fans and the governor.

He said that it is important for the team to return to Tambov.

We gave one more season for the reconstruction to end, but a situation arose with COVID-19, it was difficult for the city and the region to do this.

As we understand, this task will most likely not be solved.

Arrears were added to the stadium, including wages.

When licensing, there was a letter of guarantee from the Department of Physical Culture and Sports, so the club was licensed.

Despite its existence, for a number of reasons the region does not fulfill its financing obligations.

I do not want to assess whether the club or the region is to blame.

RPL is in contact with them and is trying to do everything possible for the team to finish the season.

The problem of Tambov is a systemic problem of clubs.

It can be solved by tightening licensing rules, but we must understand that with a sharp tightening in the Premier League, there will be six to eight clubs.

Historically there has been a gentle approach.

He, of course, carries the risks of situations with both Anji and Amkar, but we had the opportunity to hold the championship with 16 teams.

Now we are heading for tougher licensing, but it will be smooth, otherwise the number of teams in the RPL will simply drop sharply.

- Can we talk about the effectiveness of the current limit on legionnaires?

Have other options been considered?

- There were no requests for the limit.

We have not finished this season yet, it is too early to draw conclusions about the effectiveness of the limit, all the more strongly influenced by the pandemic.

I am opposed to the limit, but it is approved not only by the RFU, but also by the Ministry of Sports.

He has a strong belief that the limit is necessary to protect Russian athletes.

We must reckon with a significant share of the state in financing football.

The state will not allow only legionnaires to play for budget money.

We have to balance.

Sports performance is important, but the development of Russian players is also important.

I do not think that now we regret the departure of some legionnaires who left because of the new limit.

Clubs have opportunities to improve the quality of foreign players.

We can move the limit left and right, but the main problem is the preparation of the sports reserve.

This is what we are doing seriously.

We see how children and youth schools work, most of them do not prepare young football players for modern football.

I have great respect for RPL coaches, but they have room to grow and where to develop.

You can bring the world team to Russia, but in a year we will not recognize it.

The season must pass to draw conclusions about the limit.

We got rid of rather dubious legionnaires, clubs are more careful about transfers, the Russians' playing time has grown.

I would suggest leaving everything as it is for now and focusing on preparing the reserve.