Refereeing, new national team matches, scandals: final interview with the RFU Secretary General

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Russian football survives in conditions of exclusion from international tournaments. General Secretary of the RFU Maxim Mitrofanov, in an interview with Sport, told what happened to refereeing after the next change of the head of the refereeing corps, whether the format of the Russian Cup will change and who the national team plans to meet in the new season.

THE FORMAT OF THE RUSSIAN CUP MAY CHANGE
– At the super final of the Russian Cup, the closing ceremony of the season was held with the participation of all the teams that took part in the tournament…

– It’s nice that it coincided with a very interesting match. Many were skeptical about the composition of the participants. They doubted that it would be possible to gather a large audience at Luzhniki for the game between Zenit and Baltika. Nevertheless, over 40 thousand fans came to watch the match. 58 thousand tickets went on sale, and it seems to me that the celebration organized by the RFU, and the performance that the teams demonstrated, became a worthy end to a busy and interesting season.

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– Super final “Zenit” – “Spartak” or CSKA – “Spartak” would have sold out Luzhniki even without additional advertising…

– It was much more important for us that the sporting principle should prevail. Yes, it would be easier for the RFU if the popular Moscow team played in the super final, but we proved that it is possible to gather an impressive audience at the Baltika and hold a real sports festival.

–Luzhniki will the cup final be a permanent venue or, as was the case quite recently, will similar matches be held in different regions of the country, including those where there is no RPL club?

– Both concepts have the right to life. So far, the prevailing opinion is that the final should be held at the country's main football stadium. In Luzhniki, it is possible to organize a landmark match in a high-quality manner, and fans from different cities will be able to plan a visit to Moscow in advance. But the match for the Russian Super Cup will take place in different cities. We plan to bring big football to the regions.

–The format of the Russian Cup will not change in the coming seasons?

– Holding the cup tournament in this format is associated, first of all, with the exclusion of Russian clubs from European cups. As soon as the sanctions are lifted, the format may change. In the coming season it will be the same as in the last two. Let's see further.

JUDGING UNDER MAZHICH HAS BECOME MORE OBJECTIVE
– Will transition matches between RPL teams continue in the next season and the First League?

– There were no appeals to the RFU from either the RPL or the FNL. On its own initiative, the RFU will not consider this issue.

– At the end of the season, we witnessed a real sensation. If earlier the refereeing corps was openly accused of lobbying the interests of Zenit, now the champion and winner of the Russian Cup, according to statistics, suffered more often than others from referee errors. How does the RFU evaluate the work of the head of the refereeing department, Milorad Mazic?

– Judging has definitely become more objective. It is too early to talk about its qualitative improvement; too little time has passed. I believe that Mazhich has made positive changes in the work of the refereeing corps, and I hope they will continue.

– In a recent interview you said that in UEFA there are now only two countries that are ready to hold friendly matches with the Russian team – Belarus and Serbia. Is it really impossible to organize similar meetings with the teams of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan?

– We are negotiating with these federations, but it is quite difficult to agree on holding sparring sessions with teams from Europe. UEFA, unlike other confederations, has a busy calendar, including the League of Nations, where additional tickets to the World and European Championships are awarded. There are practically no windows left for friendly matches.

– Have opponents been chosen for friendly matches of the Russian national team in the next windows for the games of national teams?

– Negotiations are ongoing, no agreements have been signed yet. And until such agreements are signed, we do not inform about the national teams that our team can meet, or other details.

– Top European leagues hold matches for the Super Cups of their countries, sometimes even in the Final Four format, in other countries, earning good money from it. Does the RFU have a desire to hold a match for the Russian Super Cup in Minsk or Baku?

– Let's see how the national team match will take place in the capital of Belarus. Together with the Belarusian Football Federation, we have prepared several surprises for the fans of our countries. After this, you can think about holding the Super Cup match in neighboring countries. So far, there are enough cities in Russia that want to host this match.

– The consideration of the case of Ruslan Bezrukov, who joked after Rubin’s victory over Zenit about the desire to receive additional prize money from the champion’s competitors, caused too much resonance in Russia. Even the State Duma received a request to the Prosecutor General's Office to initiate a criminal case. Did the words of a young football player really deserve such attention, and an additional bonus for an achieved result could serve as a reason for persecution?

– Let me remind you that FIFA and UEFA constantly emphasize zero tolerance for financial influence on the outcome of a football game. This also applies to third party influence. Even CAS has received similar requests in the case of so-called “positive incentives”. Our assessment of Bezrukov’s words was given by the ethics committee after conducting a series of examinations. There was no pressure on the ethics committee from the federation leadership. I cannot comment on the actions of respected State Duma deputies.

– The decision of the RFU to finance football schools and stimulate children's coaches through deductions from the contracts of players of professional clubs caused a mixed reaction. The heads of some schools believe that this will lead to a decrease in revenue and, as a result, a reduction in the income of children's coaches, and the previous system of fixed payments was better.

– It is not the immediate effect that needs to be taken into account here, but long-term. If we talk about the immediate effect, the volume of payments from the RFU has now decreased. Having abolished the previous compensation system and switched to a new one, at the expense of a two percent deduction from the amount of football players’ contracts, in the fall we will pay about 30 million rubles. It’s hard to even say what she was like before. In many regions, the money simply did not reach schools. We are now monitoring all transfers and contracts very carefully. Next year, based on the results of this year, we expect to pay about 180 million rubles. By 2030, taking into account current prices, these payments should be about 300 million. Deductions will be made annually both from football players who have substantial contracts in the RPL, and from the salaries of Second League players.