"It is fortunate that the tournament will take place at all": Sorokin - on the holding of Euro 2020, ticket refunds and the occupancy of the stands

"In Russia, of all the countries hosting Euro 2020, the most favorable situation has developed"

- Now you are preparing for the visit of the UEFA delegates to St. Petersburg.

Do you have time to watch football in your busy schedule?

- Yes.

The quality of the game itself has not undergone major changes, but the realization that the stadiums are at best not even half full is crushing.

I can imagine how this affects the players.

We have already heard complaints that it does not play so well in empty arenas.

In this regard, favorable conditions have still been created in Russia.

- Does the fact that due to the coronavirus pandemic it is necessary to reshape the tournaments' calendars weighs on UEFA officials?

- Suffering - not quite the right word.

Rather, it forces you to work harder and look for forced formats.

This is really serious work.

For several months, the competition department of UEFA practically did not get out of work, as it was faced with an unbearable task: to find a compromise between compliance with all standards, maintaining health and the need to follow the tournament calendar.

Some matches were lost.

There was a question about compensation to the broadcasters.

Fortunately, the general configuration of the competition has been preserved.

I think this year we will see a smooth return to normal.

- An extra year to eliminate organizational irregularities should be good for any business.

With Euro 2020, postponed to 2021, is the situation exactly like that?

- Here we should rather talk not about the pros and cons, but about the forced measures.

Considering the situation that developed last summer, the tournament simply could not be held within the originally agreed time frame in any acceptable format.

By the way, it's good that the name of the championship was not changed.

Thus, it turned out to preserve its connection with the first ever European Championship, held in 1960.

This year gave us an opportunity to rethink some points.

Most of the thoughts were about how to conduct the tournament in the most complete form in the current conditions.

At the same time, Russia has the most favorable situation among all the host countries of the competition.

Our colleagues today cannot boast of gradual normalization and removal of restrictions.

We hold meetings, and in many cities there are problems: somewhere a full lockdown has been introduced, somewhere - a partial one.

Somewhere no establishments work at all.

If Euro 2020 took place right now, there would be difficulties with the reception of fans.

Therefore, the countries were asked to postpone the decision on the maximum number to April, since in March for many it would be difficult to talk with the authorities.         

- Has anything fundamentally changed since December, when the round table meeting was held with the participation of the authorities of St. Petersburg, representatives of UEFA and the organizing committee?

- To date, the number of cases of coronavirus has decreased both in Moscow and in St. Petersburg.

Apparently, both vaccination and an increase in the number of owners of antibodies play a role.

Everything changes every day, but it's nice that for the better.

Today we would ask the authorities to allow the holding of Euro 2020 matches in St. Petersburg with a stadium occupancy of more than 50%.

At least we are striving for this.

Fortunately, UEFA will make decisions for each city individually, taking into account the situation.

• Sorokin on the occupancy rate of the stadium in St. Petersburg for Euro 2020

- In delivering a verdict, will UEFA consider the positive experience of Russia in general and St. Petersburg in particular in hosting the 2018 World Cup?

- In this regard, we are a reliable partner for UEFA.

They understand that we have an experienced team, they know how well the city, the stadium and the organizing committee operate.

All together we have already played in St. Petersburg many matches of high international level.

We just don't present any problems for UEFA.

I hope the visit of delegates will demonstrate this once again.    

- If fans are not allowed into the stadium or their number is limited, how are the organizers going to distribute the purchased tickets?

- It's too early to talk about it.

Refunding tickets is a bad option for us and for UEFA.

We do not yet know what the return mechanism will be.

Logic suggests that you will most likely have to organize a lottery.

Earlier, UEFA set a deadline (January 26), before which people could voluntarily surrender tickets.

But few people took such a step.

Russian fans have shown particular persistence in their desire to attend the matches of Euro 2020.

The return of tickets will be a forced measure, which will be accompanied by an apology.

Unfortunately, nothing can be done about this, and everyone is internally prepared for such a development of events.

It is fortunate that the tournament will take place at all.       

- St. Petersburg in the summer was one of the most vulnerable cities in the country in terms of coronavirus.

How can the measures be toughened in this regard?

- They are already being worked out, moreover, UEFA has a framework regulation called "Return to play".

These are the regulations for holding matches under the auspices of the organization during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Everything is described there to the smallest detail: social distance, maximum isolation of teams, the desire to protect the fans.

We do not yet know whether it will undergo changes in the direction of relaxation, but we hope so, especially since the social distance in different countries differs from one meter to two.

Therefore, this regulation should be considered in relation to local legislation.     

“Bubbles are organized at many major tournaments to keep athletes, professionals, referees and staff safe.

Is there a project on paper that provides for such a development of events at Euro 2020, or is it ruled out?

- The scenario of holding matches without spectators, of course, is also being considered.

All the features of the tournament are written in this format.

But I don't even want to talk about it.

They, frankly, terrify us.

At the same time, organizing a championship without fans is easy.

But we strive to give everyone a global and bright holiday and make sure that the maximum number of people take part in it, if this does not pose a threat to their health.  

• Sorokin on a possible refund of tickets for Euro 2020 matches

"You cannot treat the Champions League final as the fifth match of the European Championship"

- How are things going with the Champions League final in 2022?

Have you already thought about it?

- We are not only thinking about him, but we are already holding meetings with colleagues from UEFA responsible for this event.

We began work in terms of interaction with hotels, construction of temporary infrastructure.

This is a special match with the established practices of the organization, which differs from both the World Cup semi-finals and the Euro quarter-finals.

You cannot treat the Champions League final as the fifth match of the European Championship, postponed for a year.

There are many interesting details.

- Have you already figured out how to organize the meeting in such a way that it will be remembered by the fans for a lifetime, as it was with the Moscow Champions League final in 2008?

- In the very bowl of the arena, everything is more or less predictable, although there may be some peculiarities.

You can only surprise with what is happening outside the stadium in the city: a cultural program, unusual events.

By the way, we are preparing an extensive cultural program for the Euro.

We hope the borders will be opened and fans from other countries will visit St. Petersburg.

Our city is wonderful in itself and offers endless leisure opportunities, especially in summer.

All this will be used 100%.

- A provocative question: who would you like to see in this final in terms of the behavior of the fans?

- As a member of the FIFA Council I cannot answer it.

The more fun the better.

All fans of the top European clubs usually behave in a memorable way.

By the way, in terms of safety, the Champions League final differs from other matches in a positive way.

As a rule, there are no serious difficulties and frictions.   

• Sorokin on hosting the Champions League final in St. Petersburg

“Absolutely everyone understands football.

Everyone believes that he has the right to give advice to coaches and RFU staff "

- Recently you have increasingly had to answer questions that are related not so much to football as to politics.

Tell me frankly, does it bother you to prove that things are not so bad in our country?

- Even hints of such conversations stopped after the 2018 World Cup.

Frankly speaking, I've never seen anything like it.

All people associated with football understand that sometimes there are separate negative situations associated, for example, with fans.

But everyone knows that in Russia they are not systemic in nature, and I do not catch any sidelong glances.

We do not feel that we are not a privileged enough member of the football community.  

- In recent years, you have gained experience in organizing key tournaments.

Has there been more understanding in which direction to move to change Russian club football?

- In the country, absolutely everyone understands football.

Everyone believes that they have the right to give advice to coaches and RFU staff.

In my opinion, enough is being done in Russian football at the moment, and the overall trend is positive.

Objectively, everything is fine with funding.

In the context of organizing matches, we are squeezing out the maximum in the context of the coronavirus pandemic.

What could have been done better?

Probably.

Could our clubs have played better in European competition?

Maybe yes.

But each situation must be considered separately.

In football, like in the stock market, there is room for fluctuations, and a recession is always followed by an upswing.

No team in the world churns out a victory

In general, I would like to advise "well-wishers" more positive and ask themselves what they have done to make football better.

- Can you imagine the option in which you will be offered to enter the RPL leadership?

- I do not like to answer questions in the subjunctive mood.

Offer - we will think.

So far, no such proposals have been received.

Moreover, everything is stable in the RPL leadership.

But, frankly speaking, it is not my task to evaluate the work of the league and the RFU.

Each fan can do it on their own.

My task is to make sure that the work of the Euro 2020 organizing committee is assessed as positively as possible both inside the country and abroad. 

- It's a paradox, but the Sergey Galitsky stadium in Krasnodar pays for itself with interest, and in some cities that have hosted the World Cup, on the contrary, the clubs are experiencing problems with the legacy of the tournament, since the costs are too high.

How to be in this situation?

- Here, too, you need to consider each situation separately.

There are natural processes that cannot be triggered artificially.

If football has slipped somewhere, of course, the legacy of the World Cup will be used to a lesser extent.

There it is necessary to provide assistance to clubs and local federations.

In other cities, the opposite is true.

It was impossible not to build stadiums for the World Cup.

Now it is up to each region to pay attention to football and the occupancy of arenas with other events.

I will not hide that I advocated centralized management of these objects, but another concept won.

It seems to me that it was not such a bad idea, at least it could be comprehended.

This is not about complete centralization, but about certain programs extended to all objects, for example, within the framework of organizing concerts.

This would serve to make them more harmonious.

- The RPL season will resume very soon, matches of which will be played with fans.

How important is it for Russia and football in general?

- Of course, this is a big plus.

It's great that we were able to find a balance between the continuation of the championship and the admission of people to the stands.

I hope this number will only increase.

- Can other countries learn from the Russian experience?

- Each country should be determined by itself.

We are not talking about a unique experience here, but rather about acceptable limits, about assessing all risks and maintaining a balance between the essence of competition and the safety of citizens.

The dialogue between the football authorities and the authorities in Russia has led to the discovery of the "golden mean".