Despite the endless attacks of the Russian enemy, football life in Ukraine did not stop. And the news from the green fields, produced by the domestic mass media, currently help our people to distract themselves at least a little from the horrors of war.
After a long hiatus in 2020 caused by the infamous pandemic, it seemed that Ukrainian football had overcome the most difficult of all possible challenges. But it seemed only until February 24, 2022, until the troops of the Russian Federation began a full-scale invasion of the territory of our state.
However, two months have passed, and the Ukrainians, having demonstrated unreal courage, courage and thirst for victory, not only pushed the enemy away from the capital, but also set about restoring everything that the occupier tried to destroy. Among other things, football.
Football schools have opened in various cities, domestic clubs have started training in some places, and "Dynamo" and "Shakhtar" have even held a number of charity matches abroad. Both giants not only collected a lot of money to help the Armed Forces of Ukraine and compatriots who suffered from military terror, but also actually prepared their leaders for the national team, which in June took part in face-to-face matches to qualify for the 2022 World Cup. Despite all the difficulties, in the battles against Scotland (3:1) and Wales (0:1), the "blue and yellow" looked good, but unfortunately, they did not achieve the main goal...
Even then it was clear that, despite all the difficulties, Ukraine should hold another championship right now, and the teams must necessarily play on their home territory, thereby sending a positive, life-affirming message to their fans. In the end, with the submission of the head of state, the appropriate decision was made in the UAF.
The war, of course, seriously interfered with the preparation process of professional clubs. Deprived the best legionnaires, the vast majority of whom, thanks to FIFA's permission, left Ukraine, deprived them of game practice, the possibility of full-fledged additional staffing and, accordingly, increased competition. Against this background, the start of the European Cup selection was expected with some caution.
"In the end, what can we expect from the autumn of the European Cup? — asked the head editor of "Football Club" Ihor Linnyk. — I think Ukraine has the right to count on three clubs in the groups. If the fourth comes, it will be a pleasant surprise. The fifth will be a collective accomplishment of a sporting feat!" (Footclub.com.ua, 02.07.2022).
Unfortunately, neither surprise nor feat happened.
Our teams finished qualifying for the group tournaments of the European Cups on a "two", taking into account the fact that, of the four representatives of the UPL, only "Dynamo" kept its starting position. In the two rounds of the Champions League selection, the Kyiv team overcame strong Fenerbahce with Sturm and, after losing to Benfica, got a ticket to the main draw of the Europa League. The three other representatives of the UPL - "Vorskla", "Zorya" and "Dnipro-1" - could not go through the sum of two matches against any rather mediocre opponents...
However, the minimum program was fulfilled, because Shakhtar automatically entered the Champions League, and the Dnipro team was relegated to the Conference League.
Of course, after the summer failures, Ukraine's club rating went down: 16th place. We have never fallen so low. The previous worst result (15th position) was back in 2005.
Moreover, those who will play in Europe in the fall should not be envied. Their schedule is expected to be crazy: two matches in a week without any breaks. The reason for this is the winter finals of the 2022 World Cup, which compressed the deadline for European cup tournaments as much as possible - UEFA took less than two months for the 6 rounds of the UEFA group stage. And between them, we still have three matches of the Ukrainian national team in the League of Nations!
"And, by the way, such a force majeure with unprecedented burdens on the participants of the European Cups may well revive and shake up the UPL, playing into the hands of all the participants, Ihor Linnyk shares his expectations. — After all, while the leaders and some of the contenders for the medal will be distracted by the struggle with logistics, their competitors in the domestic arena will have the opportunity to add trouble to the favorites - not with skill, but with running work. From which it follows that with the beginning of autumn, much more unexpected results and sensations should be expected in the UPL tournament, and even a certain reformatting of the standings. And there - who will have a good time" (Footclub.com.ua, 02.07.2022).
Actually, reformatting of the table is already taking place. The same "Dynamo", having played six extremely difficult European Cup matches in a short period of time, entered the new championship with great difficulty, starting it with two defeats. The Kyivans could not gather for the game with "Dnipro-1" (0:3), after which they lost to "Zorya" (2:3). And although in the second case, according to the statistics, the wards of Mircea Lucescu completely outplayed their opponent (23:7 on kicks, 12:0 on corners), it still did not bring them points. It is significant that the decisive goal for Luhansk was scored by young Volodymyr Brazhko, a 20-year-old midfielder on loan from "Zorya" to... "Dynamo".
Be that as it may, the Romanian coach of the "white and blue" does not make a tragedy out of these failures.
"This is a difficult period and we need to survive it, - says Lucescu. — Currently, it is necessary to prepare for the next meeting, to prepare for the game with Fenerbahce in the Europa League. There we need to cling to every match, and in the championship we will still be able to make up for lost time." (Ukrfootball.ua, 09/03/2022).
It is really early for Kyiv fans to sprinkle ashes on their heads. It can be recalled that the mighty Barcelona, starting its most successful season in 2008/09, which resulted in winning everything, conceded more than modestly to Numancia. Or that the mighty Juventus suffered two defeats at the start of the 2015/16 campaign, but at the end they were 9 points clear of their rivals!
So, there is no need to rush to conclusions, because all the features of the current season relate only to its beginning and seem to be preparing us for new surprises. Of which, judging by the force majeure circumstances, there will obviously still be plenty.
By and large, the top topic in the domestic football media at the junction of August and September was not the start of the championship, but another attempt by the Ukrainian Premier League to create a single TV pool. The attempt turned out to be unprepared, lopsided and therefore doomed to scandal. Unfortunately, our officials do not draw conclusions from past events...
Cues like "Dynamo" relentlessly and once again disrupted the creation of a single TV pool" appeared online on August 12. Ihor Burbas, a former reporter of the "Football" TRC, launched them on the air through his Telegram channel. He skilfully and promptly relayed the signals of his sources - people who attended UPL meetings and thus exposed the "culprits".
The only thing that happened was that the representatives of Dynamo, as well as Dnipro-1, Zorya and Rukh, were not satisfied with the offer from the Setanta Sports broadcaster.
On the same day, Serhiy Mokhnyk, the deputy gender manager of the capital club, explained why it was not arranged. Kyiv's condition came down to a single point - matches with the participation of the team should be available to the widest possible audience, and therefore should be broadcast, including on national channels.
"We are talking about wartime. For a fan who is overseas, on the front lines, in the trenches, it is difficult to find an opportunity to register and watch Setanta. This broadcaster has 85 thousand subscribers, and "Dynamo" fans - under five million, if not more. So what are we comparing to? Different numbers. We are talking and fighting for our fan - we have the right" (Fanday.net, 12.08.22), Mokhnyk emphasized.
Later, this opinion was developed by the president of Dynamo Ihor Surkis:
"Now, when there is a war in our country, when all of Ukraine is fighting against Russian invaders, the opportunity to watch football matches of the national championship should be free, as accessible as possible. So that absolutely everyone who is interested in football, interesting Dynamo matches, had the opportunity to watch them. Therefore, in the process of negotiations, we announced one and only one condition - give the opportunity to broadcast Dynamo's home matches on one of the national channels and on our YouTube channel with a delay of a certain number of minutes. That's it, we don't have any more conditions. But for us, this is a matter of principle - at least during war!" (Fcdynamo.com, 14.08.22).
To illustrate, Surkis gave the example of the broadcast of the August meeting of Kyiv with "Sturm": 3-3.5 million people watched the game on "2+2" (with a 15-minute delay), and only 350 thousand watched the game directly on Setanta. More than eloquent numbers.
The president of "Movement" Hryhoriy Kozlovsky also spoke about the need to ensure universal access to UPL matches, apparently the same opinion was held in the offices of "Dnipro-1" and "Zora".
Against this background, the statements of some representatives of the UPR looked strange, who, instead of somehow helping in reaching a consensus, began to hint at the application of sanctions for "separs".
What, in particular, is the speech of "Veres" president Ivan Nadein worth:
"We have adopted a single charter for all, and we must act according to it. Those who do not want to will receive sanctions. We will file a complaint with the KDC, we will demand fines. If Setanta Sports imposes fines on us, we will transfer them to these clubs. If they do not stop, they may be excluded from the competition altogether" (Fanday.net, 12.08).
Such aggressive rhetoric naturally surprised some journalists.
"If you put the European authority and the audience on the scales, then, probably, the conditional weight of "Dynamo" will be no less than the total attractiveness of the entire Ukrainian Premier League, - states columnist Kostyantyn Patkevich. — That's why individual accusations about some sanctions against Kyiv, and even more so, about excluding them from the competition, only cause an ironic smile and a feeling of discomfort for the authors of such initiatives. "Dynamo" is definitely not the opponent that will benefit from sticking sticks in the wheels of a collective idea. It's just that Setanta managers should listen to the club's arguments, take its place and adjust their own conditions for the sake of the interests of millions of fans. After all, it is from them that the telepool begins." (Footclub.com.ua, 14.08.22).
The broadcaster refused to make concessions, although there were enough experts on the football sidelines who were in solidarity with the "four" clubs.
"I fully understand the position of "Dynamo", "Rukh"... It is closer to me than the desire to make a telepool at any cost. Now is definitely not the time for quarrels, it is necessary to find a balance - both UAF and UPL. Now it is necessary to try to help each other, and not to quarrel. If the price is now such that the boys at the front watch football for free, then the position of "Rukh" and "Dynamo" is closer to me. From a business perspective? Well, let's not talk about business this season" (Theageoffootball.com, 12.08.22), - reflects the well-known football agent Oleg Avdysh.
It seems that it was the desire to create a TV pool as soon as possible, without resolving the main contradictions, that pushed the Premier League. On August 15, on its website, it announced Setanta Sports as the official broadcaster of the UPL. It was specified that the agreement is for three years, and that the contract amount is $16.2 million.
The authors of the message did not forget to indicate that "The majority of UPL Participants voted for the relevant decision", so what "According to the UPL statute, a decision is considered adopted if more than half of the Participants voted for it" (Upl.ua, 15.08).
On the same day, the cases were published research results Ukrainian sociological group:
"77.5% of Ukrainians said that they would not buy, or more likely, would not buy a subscription to football matches on sports TV channels, even if the matches were broadcast only there. (Ukranews.com, 08/15/22) are the results of a survey of more than 3,000 fans. However, it is unlikely that any of the UPL officials were concerned about such indicators.
The executive director of the League, Yevhen Dyky, meanwhile, explained why he considers his organization to be the owner of the rights to telecast matches.
"In 2011, the executive committee, at that time the FFU, actually transferred the broadcast rights to the clubs for eight years - that is, until 2019. This decision was not prolonged, according to which, as of 2019, the right holder of these rights is already the UAF (Article 47 of the UAF Statute)" (Fanday.net, 20.08.22).
Dykiy noted that clubs can regain their rights only by a decision of the UAF executive committee. As if responding to these words of the official, Ihor Surkis emphasized once again that the rights to the telecast belong to the club and only to him.
"I did not transfer the rights to anyone. And if someone thinks that they can be taken away just like that, then there are certain instances that will prove that this cannot be done. At one time, in Spain, there were four years of negotiations on the transfer of the rights to television broadcasts by clubs. And only the voluntary agreement of the clubs made it possible to create a single telepool!
We have a long-term contract with "2+2". We were ready to go even to fines to break this agreement and create a joint television pool. We didn't even stutter about the financial components. We had only one condition - football must be shown on public channels! Not in six hours, not in ten, not in a day, but with a maximum of 15 minutes delay" (Fanday.net, 20.08.22).
The president of "Dynamo" also announced that the 1+1 Media company, in addition to the games with the participation of his team, will broadcast the matches of "Dnipro-1", "Zori" and "Metalista". Representatives of the latter, as it turned out, withdrew their vote in support of the TV pool with Setanta Sports and joined its other "oppositionists".
The start of the championship was approaching, a compromise was not looming, and it became clear that conflict situations at matches are inevitable. As a result, Setanta Sports film crews were not allowed to attend the games "Zorya" - "Vorskla", "Rukh" - "Metalist" and "Dynamo" - "Dnipro-1" (the match "Metalist" - "Ingulets" was broadcast simultaneously on two channels) .
After each incident, Setanta Sports filed a complaint with the UPL, and each time the League issued the same standard threatening response:
"Due to the Zorya football club not allowing the film crew to film the Zorya-Vorskla match, the Mobile Television Station of the official broadcaster Setanta Sports was forced to leave the Avangard Stadium, where the match is being held.
After receiving all official reports and documents, data about the incident will be submitted for consideration by the Control and Disciplinary Committee of the UAF" (Upl.ua, 23.08.22).
Such threats in no way affected the determination of the refusers. Moreover, on August 26, "Movement", which initially tried to organize broadcasts on its own, also made an application to sign a contract with 1+1 Media.
For its part, Dnipro-1 continued to insist on its own rightness. This, in particular, was said by the honorary president of the club Yurii Bereza:
"The position of the sports club "Dnipro-1" in the future, despite any pressure, remains the following: fans of Ukraine have the right to watch football for free, and this is not negotiable. The club will maintain this position until the end of the war in Ukraine.
As of today, there are more than a million people in the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and I would not want my brothers to pay and look for ways to watch their favorite football match. (Union.net, 31.08.22).
The harbinger of a resolution in this confrontation was a message from the famous commentator Viktor Vatsk, which he voiced in the author's program.
"The host club is responsible for holding a match in our country. He is responsible for everything. For conducting the match in accordance with the regulations, he pays fines for all kinds of trouble. For example, an unfinished lawn. Are the fans misbehaving? The fine is paid by the club. Not ready seats in the dressing room - the fine is paid by the club. Therefore, there is a version that, according to these parallels, the organizer of the competition called "football match", where the host team competes with the visiting team, should have all the rights to its broadcast. (Vatsko on air, 30.08.22).
And soon it became known about two rulings of the Pechersk Court of the city of Kyiv, which, first of all, prohibited the UAF and UPL from interfering with the broadcasts of home matches of "Dynamo", "Zora", "Dnipro-1", "Metalista" and "Rukh" on YouTube. platforms. In addition, the court prohibited the UAF and the UPL from applying any monetary and sporting sanctions to football clubs that are going to broadcast their home matches independently. This, in particular, was reported by the site Tribuna.com (01.09.22), clarifying that both decrees on securing the claim are subject to immediate execution. Accordingly, an appeal can be filed within 15 days.
In other words, the clubs that refused to join the telepool imposed on them, as well as the entire football community, hope that all the dots on the "i" in this story will be placed by the court in the near future.
And it was an unexpectedly radical step appeal clubs to the People's Deputies of Ukraine regarding the clear distinction between the concepts of "sports competition" and "sports event", as well as the distinction of the statuses of persons responsible for their holding. The aim is to permanently enshrine for clubs the right to dispose of the 'product' they produce.
IN explanatory note the problem was laid out so transparently and obviously that it almost immediately spilled into the registered in the Verkhovna Rada draft Law of Ukraine on amendments to the Law of Ukraine "On Physical Culture and Sports" (reg. No. 7719).
On Wednesday, August 31, at a meeting of the Committee of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on Youth and Sports, the honorary member of UEFA Hryhoriy Surkis reinforced the position of the clubs, citing illustrative examples:
"As a vice-president and member of the UEFA executive committee, I headed the Marketing Committee of this organization and took an active part in negotiations with the national associations, which at that time had the rights to show the matches of their national teams. For two years, we held so-called top tables, convincing all 55 associations to create a single marketing and television pool. We gave specific numbers, cited specific benefits and, in the end, got our way. In the end, everyone ended up winning. I emphasize, it was a democratic conversation - without threats and ultimatums. The same happened with club tournaments - Champions League and Europa League.
In any case, everything related to the conduct of matches, that is, intellectual property, remains with the club, and it is up to the club to decide whether to delegate its rights to someone or not. Examples? In Greece, clubs exercise their rights independently, as do the Portuguese giants - Porto, Benfica, Sporting. In Spain, "Barcelona" and "Real" also refused to enter the telepool for a long time until they received a decent offer. (Komsport.rada.gov.ua, 01.09.22).
Judging by the words of representatives of the "five" in the UPL, similar processes took place much easier: the opinion of individual clubs was simply not taken into account there. The information shared by the executive director of "Dnipra-1" Andriy Rusol was particularly revealing:
"Before my eyes, there was a transformation of the regulation of the UPL in terms of how this organization tried to acquire the rights to the television pool or to gain control over decision-making.
In 2018, in the regulations, the decree on the telepool sounded as follows - clubs MAY transfer their rights to a broadcaster or a broadcaster. Then a year or two later, the regulations were changed to say that clubs are now OBLIGED to transfer their rights.
And in 2022, a clause on sanctions for clubs, if they do not voluntarily transfer their rights to the UPL, appeared in the regulations. For five or six years, before my eyes, this regulation changed. I don't know who initiated all these changes, but I see that this strategy exists to deprive clubs of the ability to manage their rights." (Ua.tribuna.com, 01.09.22).
And although the UPL quickly noted that it is going to appeal the decision of the Pechersk Court, it is already carrying out its order. And after 1+1 Media 3 September showed two matches of the 3rd round, not a single threatening message appeared on the League's website - like those that were regularly published before.
"The clear and logical verdict was the result of the confrontation of not only two ideologies. On the part of the UAF and UPL, we have not for the first time observed attempts to break "refusalists" through threats and ultimatums. There was a reasonable impression that Setanta's proposal was interesting to our football managers only from the point of view that both the Association and the League received their commissions. The interests of the clubs have receded into the distant background.
As for the "efficiency" of management by the UAF and UPL, that is too old and well-studied history. Officials have already been shown what it means to act promptly and productively in the legal field, relying on the experience of the civilized world. (Footclub.com.ua, 02.09.22), summarizes journalist Yurii Korzachenko.
And finally, a logical question arises: why is the president of the UAF still silent?
Ihor Surkis cannot explain it either
"I didn't talk to him about the telepool - he is silent. I hope he reads my interview. And his position should be equal to that of all clubs. FFU, UPL should listen to our position and find a compromise. After all, the president of the FFU, Pavelko, should deal with this conflict impartially" (Ua.tribuna.com, 03.09.22).
Well, the ball is in the Association's court. There is hope that Andrii Pavelko will not take a break for long. Moreover, in mid-August, while attending the "Cup of Heroes of the Armed Forces of Ukraine" matches in Cherkasy, the head of the UAF clearly emphasized: "Football is necessary for our defenders, young fans are necessary... Football is necessary for all of Ukraine!" (Terrikon.ua, 14.08.22).
Isn't that what the "five" insists on?
Orest LELEKA