UAF Ethics and Fair Play Committee Chairman Francesco Baranca told how the Russian military invasion in February found him in Kyiv, how he volunteered to help Ukraine in the first months of full-scale war, and also explained why the resumption of football competitions is a slap in the face to the Russian people and an important step of Ukrainians towards victory.
Francesco Baranca— Francesco, you have been working in Ukraine for more than five years as the chairman of the UAF Committee on Ethics and Fair Play. What results did your team achieve during this period?
— If you look at the numbers, I can say that we have almost completely solved the problem. When I started, we had over 100 suspicious matches, and last year that number was down to just seven. So this is a really big achievement for us.
In addition, we have developed a system called "Iron Dome" designed to protect football from fixed-score matches. We are the only country that has such a system. UEFA and all other football associations would like to use it in their competitions. Such a system finds suspicious matches, sends a notification to the providers about them, and in the future they can take them for review and suspend the possibility of placing bets on them. The presence of such a system opens up wide opportunities, and we could, for example, make a profit from the sale of data.
Of course, we have enough problems. Especially those related to any kind of corruption. This year will be a big challenge because usually during wars and emergencies the level of corruption increases and I am sure there will be more attempts at match fixing. I am sure that Russia will try to influence Ukrainian football. At the last meeting with UAF President Andriy Pavelko, which we had on this topic, he declared zero tolerance for match-fixing. After all, the whole world is watching Ukraine now. We have started a special championship, we are playing in wartime. And we don't want anyone to try to do wrong again.
— What were the first months of full-scale war like for you? Has professional activity taken a back seat to volunteering?
— When the full-scale war broke out, I tried to stay calm. But to be honest, I've never felt as scared as I did then. I spent three days at the Italian embassy in Kyiv. There were many people there and they were all very scared. Then I had a long trip to Spain. But I was lucky that I was able to get to a safe place, unlike the Ukrainians who stayed in the country, took up arms and have been waging a bloody struggle for their freedom for six months.
Next, the head coach of the women's national team of Ukraine Luis Cortes and I organized humanitarian cargo from Spain to Ukraine. In addition, at that time I found a new activity for myself - I was looking for new teams for young players who were leaving Ukraine for Europe due to the war. I approached clubs and academies in Sweden, Italy, Spain and other countries. I am in good contact with Cadena Ser, one of the most influential radio stations in Spain. Last week they did an interview with one of our guys who plays for Rayo Mahadaonda in the RFEF Premier Division. We found this club for him.
I also emphasized and continue to emphasize that Russia should be blocked from the entire betting industry. It is important that Russia cannot spend the money it receives from this industry. I have already given quite a few media interviews to outline this issue as broadly as possible.
— When did the committee resume its work, and what did it manage to do in the last six months?
— We continued our activities, in particular regarding Tymoshchuk's case. As it is known, he was stripped of all titles received in Ukraine and banned from Ukrainian football for life.
As the new season has just started, we have organized courses for clubs. With the first lecture, we went to Chornomorets. And we plan to complete training sessions with all other professional teams during the season. We visit UPL teams and explain what can and can't be done in terms of betting and what responsibility will have to be borne in case of wrongdoing.
One of our responsibilities is also the problem of rates in Russia. We pursue Russian bookmakers' sponsorship of foreign competitions, including the Italian Serie A. Also, our goal is to prevent any bets from Russia on football matches in Ukraine. You can't imagine how disgusting it is when the aggressor state makes money from bets on matches of Ukrainian teams!
Russia can still bet on all football competitions. We are talking about billions of euros. The bookmaking industry remains outside the sanctions imposed on Russia. It cannot be so. Last week, Kharkiv was shelled, where people continue to die from Russian missiles. And at the same time, Russian bookmakers offered to place bets on the match involving "Vorskli-Kharkiv-2" in the Women's Champions League. This is absolutely disgusting!
— What exactly is the problem for Ukraine in the activities of Russian bookmakers? And what to do with it?
— There are two problems. The first is that Russian bookmakers are sponsors of sports competitions throughout Europe. For example, advertising of the Liga Stavok bookmaker on Italian Serie A matches or 1XBet on Spanish La Liga matches, whose license is not Russian, but the company itself is pro-Russian.
Most sports organizations and leagues have condemned the Russian military invasion of Ukraine, but there are still those who continue to cooperate with the aggressor country.
We've received a number of complaints from people who watch Serie A matches on Megogo and are forced to see a banner ad for the Russian Stavok League. These events take place in at least three countries where the championship matches are broadcast, Ukraine, Poland and Spain.
We have already approached Serie A three times. The first time was in May, and we have not received a single response. The second time was three weeks ago and they told us that the problem would be fixed. However, the advertising banner was still present during broadcasts. Already in a follow-up letter that we received recently, they informed us about the current contract and that there is nothing they can do in this case. I am very disappointed, because it seems that money has become stronger than dignity. It is shocking that Russia, which in the 21st century is carrying out a military invasion of Ukraine, calmly promotes its companies in Europe.
The second problem is the competitions and matches that Russian bookmakers offer for betting. Most providers stopped their activities in Russia with the start of the war. But there is the Sportradar company, a major player in the sports data market and also a UEFA provider. This provider still operates in Russia and offers a wide list of competitions on which you can bet: Champions League, English Premier League, Italian Serie A, etc. At the same time, the owner of Sportradar owns 25% of the shares of "League of Stavok". In the spring, at the height of the Russian offensive in Ukraine, there was a loud scandal about this in the international media.
The championship of Ukraine started a week ago, and as an example, you can take the match of the 2nd round of the Ukrainian Premier League "Olexandria" - "Minai". Russian bookmakers received data about the game from Sportradar and offered users to place bets on this match. Do you understand this degree of cynicism, when Russia has been waging war in Ukraine for six months, and at the same time its companies are making money on bets on Ukrainian football?
We sent a letter to UEFA explaining the situation and noting that their partner, Sportradar, should stop providing data from Ukrainian competitions to Russian bookmakers.
Also, yesterday we sent a request to FeedConstruct, which is a Ukrainian ISP, to suspend the transmission of data to Sportradar.
— A new championship has started, and this is the first time that Ukraine is holding football competitions in wartime. How do you feel about such a decision?
- This is a big challenge from the point of view of security. But I believe that leading a normal life during the war is a loud slap to the Russian people. When you can live normally during such a difficult period, it's incredible. You show the whole world that thanks to the heroes who defend the country, Ukrainians can return to a normal life and show resilience in any situation. Yes, it's a huge risk, but it's a calculated risk.
I welcomed the decision of the UAF president to start the championship, because it is a big step towards a normal life. In times of war, football can make a difference. Sports can give people 90 minutes to not think about war. In Spain, I saw children from Ukraine who were fleeing the war and headed for their first training at the academy, which became a temporary shelter for them. They didn't know the language, they didn't know anything. In the eyes of those children, I saw fear and sadness, but as soon as they started playing football, they forgot all their worries. Football is an antidote to war and the negativity it creates.
