“Everyone has emotions, but they should not cross the borders”: why the FTC RFU disqualified Abaskal and Fedotov

The Control and Disciplinary Committee of the RFU at the next meeting considered the incident that occurred between the head coach of CSKA Vladimir Fedotov and the mentor of Spartak Guillermo Abascal during a break in the match of the 13th round of the Russian Football Championship.

The Spaniard in that episode rushed to the Russian specialist with a cry of "fair play", thereby provoking a colleague to respond.

Fedotov asked why Abascal was waving his arms, called him a clown and advised him to go home.

The words of the Russian mentor did not appear in the media immediately, but only a day after the end of the derby, and aroused keen interest among the FTC.

The head of the committee, Artur Grigoryants, invited the coaches to a meeting so that they could explain their behavior, which caused a strong reaction from the sports community.

Both specialists, despite the preparation of the teams for the next round of the RPL, arrived on Thursday at the Football House.

With journalists, they communicated with restraint.

Fedotov, answering the question whether the conflict had been settled, showed a screenshot from the same live broadcast, where after the game the mentors shake hands with each other.

“Everything has already been said.

Why did you have to come?

Well, there are very smart people out there.

There were no official statements, they were taken from the video.

That's why I came here.

Who is training now?

They are waiting for me, ”Fedotov explained.

Abascal did not discuss anything at all before the meeting, and after that he only threw a phrase that he did not agree with the decision, but would not comment on it.

It soon became clear why the coach was unhappy.

The RFU FTC punished both specialists for the skirmish, and not just the army men's mentor, as many expected.

The Spaniard has been suspended for one game.

Fedotov - for two matches, the second of which is suspended.

Also, the participants in the conflict were fined 50 thousand rubles.

Thus, Abaskal will miss the home match against Khimki, and the CSKA coach will not be able to attend the away match against Orenburg.

Grigoryants explained that the specialists were punished under various articles of the disciplinary regulations.

Such measures were applied to Fedotov for abusive behavior towards an official of the club and an opponent player.

“Vladimir Valentinovich did not deny the utterance of these words.

And yes, it would be stupid to do so.

Everything is clearly audible on the video, ”said the head of the RFU FTC.

Sanctions were applied to Abascal for unsportsmanlike behavior and provocative actions that create a threat of violations of public order at the stadium.

According to Grigoryants, the specialist left his technical area in an aggressive manner and could push the fans to inappropriate behavior.

“Yes, he said fair play.

However, all this happened very close to the podium, where unrest also began.

Spectators crowded in that place during the episode, and additional stewards had to be brought up to prevent the fans from going downstairs.

We also recorded how the head of the Spartak security service approached Abaskal and took him to a room under the stands, ”the specialist drew attention.

According to Grigoryants, the coaches sat side by side at the meeting.

Both confirmed that the conflict between them has been settled and they have no claims against each other.

“Emotions, of course, we all have.

Football is a game.

Everything is clear here.

But they must not overstep the bounds.

And insults, unsportsmanlike behavior cannot accompany them.

Otherwise, you and I can go far, ”concluded the head of the FTC RFU.

However, the story did not end there.

Before the parties had time to disperse, Spartak issued a press release in which they expressed surprise at the decision.

“Our coach did not offend the opponent either by words or actions, and his calls for observing the “fair play” principle were dictated by the well-known circumstances of the first half and did not have any provocative goals.

From the punitive measures applied in such circumstances, football itself will suffer first of all.

The position of our club is that the emotional, but correct behavior of the team coaches should not be the basis for excommunication from football, ”the official statement of the red-whites says. 

Also, Spartak stressed that the disciplinary regulations do not allow the team to appeal the decision, but the club will consider all possible legal responses in this situation.

CSKA reacted much more restrained, again recalling that the conflict was settled immediately after the final whistle, and attempts to revive it led to the fact that both specialists would not be able to lead their wards next weekend.

“We believe that the FTC RFU made a fairly balanced decision.

In this situation, it was important to take into account the causal relationship - and this was done.

A football match is, first of all, emotions.

Someone likes the Spanish temperament, while someone likes the Ural character - everyone's business.

Of course, emotions should remain within the framework of respect for the opponent, but the main match of the country should be just like that.

I don't want clubs to focus on filming opposing team coaches and players and use that as a disqualification tool.

We believe that this will not come to this, ”Match TV quotes Kirill Breido, CSKA communications director.

Opinions of experts on the decision of the FTC RFU diverged.

So, the former head coach of Lokomotiv Yuri Semin considered it wrong, since a verbal skirmish is a purely sporting moment.

The former president of Spartak, Andrey Chervichenko, said that football should be a spicy spectacle and such episodes only increase interest in it.

And ex-CSKA player Dmitry Kuznetsov, on the contrary, urged specialists to follow the rules established by the RFU and avoid similar scandals in the future.

An unexpected conclusion was made by Zarema Salikhova, the wife of the former owner of Spartak, Leonid Fedun.

In her opinion, due to such a decision of the FTC RFU, foreigners may have a spoiled opinion about the RPL.

“The maximum that could be scraped together for Abascal was a conditional suspension for one game ... Unfortunately, everything is being done so that foreign experts have a negative opinion about the league: refereeing decisions, FTC verdicts.

If the goal is to prevent the emergence of ambitious, competent specialists in Russian football, with an excellent international coaching school, who are the adornment of our dull championship, then we are on the right track, ”said Salikhova in an interview with Sport-Express.