The deprivation of salary quotas of a number of biathletes of the Russian national team gave rise to a serious scandal. However, it seems that this story will find a happy ending. Journalist Dmitry Guberniev, who reported the incident to the public, spoke about the conversation with the head of the Center for the Training of National Teams of Russia (CSP). According to him, in the course of communication, it was decided, after receiving a corresponding application from the RBU, to increase salary quotas.
"That is, now the ball is on the side of the RBU field. Colleagues Viktor Maigurov, deputies, prepare a new application with the inclusion of those names that you have deprived of money. People who deserve it. And there may be more than three of them. An application from the RBU is needed tomorrow. Otherwise, we will know who missed everything again, "Match TV quotes Guberniyev.
Earlier, the Minister of Sports Oleg Matytsin promised to look into the situation. He assured that at the moment everything is being done to find a way out of the situation, and also stressed that he is constantly in dialogue with the RBU.
"The issue of social protection of athletes is very important. We will do everything to prevent injustice. With the federations, we are now changing some criteria. But it is important for us to do everything to provide for our athletes. We are doing everything to find a positive solution to this issue," Matytsin said.
Meanwhile, biathletes who lost their salaries on the air of one of the TV channels once again told how they found themselves in this situation. Larisa Kuklina played for the main team of the country for several years and even won gold in the relay at the 2018/19 World Cup in Oberhof.
According to the athlete, when she was informed about the verdict of the federation, she first took it as a joke and reacted calmly. The biathlete thought that she herself had not fulfilled any necessary criteria and hoped to resolve the issue upon arrival at the training camp in Sochi.
"I thought there would be an explanation in connection with which I was deprived of wages. But, unfortunately, no explanation has been received. Accordingly, I still do not know this, because we simply did not have a regulation on what criteria these rates would be determined by us, "Kuklina complained.
Mikhail Kuklin, Larisa's husband and coach, to put it mildly, was also unpleasantly surprised by this decision and did not understand why his wife did not get bets if they were allocated to the women's team 15. At the same time, he assured that the biathletes of the national team do not earn millions - half of the rate from the CSP is only 25 thousand rubles.
Another victim, Ilnaz Mukhamedzyanov, expressed surprise that the criteria for getting into the main team and, accordingly, for bets were actually violated. He performed well at the main starts of last season in Izhevsk and Tchaikovsky, but it did not help. The athlete tried to solve the problem in communication with the vice-president of the RBU Pavel Rostovtsev, coaches and heads of regional federations, but everything turned out to be in vain. At the same time, the coaches of the national team, according to Mukhamedzyanov, remained on the side of the wards.
"I asked questions to both the coaches and Rostovtsev. He asked: "Who to turn to next?" He replied that Maigurov was not up to it now. I went through all the instances and they told me that they could no longer help me. Let's wait six months, they will revise the lists - maybe we will take something into account, "Ilnaz said.
And Evgeny Emerkhonov recalled how last year he faced a similar one when he moved from juniors to an adult team. Then he was also offered not to receive the salary due, despite winning a medal at the European Championships. This time, at his request, the president of the Tatarstan Biathlon Federation, Ildar Nugumanov, tried to understand the situation, but failed to get through to Maigurov.
Finally, world champion Anton Babikov, who decided to go to self-training, and therefore was excluded from the national team's roster, spoke about his dialogue with the management.
"Just to say that we have criteria, you didn't fulfill them, so be quiet. That's what I was told. I said, "I'm glad you have 15 athletes stronger than me. Let them train in the national team." Winter will come, I have enough motivation to prove to you that I am not the 16th. Athletes can not do anything, they are worried in the same way as we were worried about Dmitry Shukalovich, "Babikov said live on Match TV.
As it turned out, this problem affected not only biathletes, but also service personnel. For example, Dmitry Shukalovich, who held the position of analyst in the group of Sergei Bashkirov, was transferred to the youth team. And the only rehabilitologist of the main national team, Ilya Yakovlev, completely lost his post.
He was also invited by the head coach of the men's team, Yuri Kaminsky. The specialist worked with Kuklina, as well as women from the group of Artem Istomin and Vitaly Noritsyn and helped biathletes recover. According to Guberniev, after a conversation with Rostovtsev, it was decided to leave him.
"The sponsorship budget of the RBU, without state money, is 350 million rubles. What do they spend money on? On Comrade Maigurov, on his deputy, the apparatus? They paid inadequate prize money to athletes, now there will be fewer races, what about the prize money?" the journalist was indignant.
Yakovlev himself said that his contract was simply not renewed. As the rehabilitation therapist admitted, the RBU made it clear that the money that goes to his services is better spent on other needs. At the same time, he assured that he received an average salary in the labor market and did not ask for much. The specialist also said that all the biathletes with whom he worked are worried about his departure.
"My job is to provide communication between the medical and coaching staff. A rehabilitation therapist is an important link that can influence the health and performance of an athlete at the same time. We use the same methods as, for example, the Norwegians. Only they have been doing this for the last 30 years, and we have just begun. Well, finished, it turns out, "Yakovlev explained.
At the same time, the coaching staff verbally supported the wards. For example, the senior coach of the men's team Kaminsky stressed that, contrary to the statement of the chairman of the coaching council Vladimir Bragin, he did not take part in voting on social networks on the topic of which of the athletes should remain on the bets.
According to him, the discussion of candidates in April was really going on, but he did not participate in it and wanted to see the final list. Rostovtsev supposedly really consulted with him on this topic. Then the specialist replied that biathletes should still be selected according to the rating.
"I would call the new system unfair. If the salary is paid for training, then we should have a charity, not a sports organization. And if it's sports, then you have to pay for the result or for the totality of the results," Kaminsky said in an interview with the Championship.
He admitted that he himself found out about the failure of three people from his own group to bets before leaving for the training camp in Sochi, but did not receive any explanation.
"Rostovtsev, when he arrived here, said that all discussions had already been completed, whoever wanted to, made his proposals. Apparently, we understand the word "discussion" differently, what can you do? The coaches who are now at the training camp asked if something could be changed, but received the answer that nothing could be done," Kaminsky added.
In the regional federations, the incident also caused indignation. For example, Eremkhonov was supported in Tatarstan. And the president of the Biathlon Federation of St. Petersburg, Dmitry Vasiliev, was surprised at parting with Yakovlev and Shukalovich.
"This suggests that Maigurov and his deputies have no managerial experience. We are talking about living people. If they wanted a raise, they had to be listened to and argued why you couldn't do it. Or, conversely, give an increase. But when you beat on the sly, it's not serious. Honestly, I'm even a little offended by them. They behave as unprofessionally as possible, "Sport-Express quoted the functionary as saying.