“Perhaps we will play, but this is not certain” – Kommersant FM

There will be no joint football championship between Russia and Belarus yet, said the head of the organization, Alexander Dyukov, after a meeting of the RFU executive committee. Sports Minister Oleg Matytsin previously spoke about the possible unification of tournaments. Dyukov answered questions about the future of Russian football in an unexpected format. Kommersant FM sports commentator Vladimir Osipov attended the meeting of the head of the RFU with journalists.

Football officials in Russia do a lot that raises questions, but the last meeting of the RFU executive committee, which the head of the organization Alexander Dyukov did not attend, will be difficult to forget. Even during the pandemic, meetings were held in video format, but the current one was held in audio mode.

There were large monitors with a blue background in the hall, and Mr. Dyukov, in a voice that came from speakers mounted in the ceiling, immediately made it clear to those present that he did not intend to discuss the format of the meeting: “We are wasting time. The distance that exists, it seems to me, in no way prevents you from asking a question.”

And there were many questions for Mr. Dyukov. And regarding relations with FIFA and UEFA, and regarding strange decisions related to the domestic championship. As for the international position, there is no need to dwell on this. Everything is unchanged here. And even the strange story with the admission or non-admission of national teams with players under 17 years of age has not become any clearer.

If we discard the verbal lace that the helmsman of our football wove, then the situation looks like this: perhaps we will play, but this is not certain. At the same time, it was said that the main team would play. With whom exactly, Dyukov did not say. Apparently, there are no specific agreements yet. So there will be a lot of speculation on the Internet about meetings with Tanzania, Zanzibar and even the Seychelles.

But the head of the RFU spoke with pleasure about referees from Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Belarus in the RPL, as well as the visits of our judges to these countries: “Our judges need experience working abroad for development. This work also gives the referees additional motivation, which is important for them.”

By the way, Dyukov still does not rule out the possibility of joining the Asian Confederation. Moreover, he assured the press that a decision would be made closer to the winter holidays. Everything is the same as last year, only then Alexander Valerievich spoke about it not from the ceiling speakers, but directly looking into the eyes of the journalists.

By the way, this executive committee showed that communication between our officials and colleagues from FIFA and UEFA is not in vain.

To the question of why some are fined and even suspended from football by judges for criticizing them, while the harsh statements of others are not paid attention to, the answer was easily found.

We were talking about the president of FC Ural, Grigory Ivanov, who openly told the journalist that the judges should be taken and drowned. Why Ivanov was not punished was explained by RFU Secretary General Maxim Mitrofanov: “Specifically, Grigory Viktorovich did not realize that all the comments he gave would be voiced verbatim and transmitted to the general public. He communicated with you personally there.”

The explanation, of course, caused smiles, but the RFU always considered its decisions to be competent and adequate. By the way, at the very end of the press conference, Alexander Dyukov was asked to describe in one word what was happening in our football. The head of the RFU was unable to choose one word, but I would like to hope that in the end he will be able to form the word “happiness” from the letters provided to him.

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