Making fun of the recent meeting of the head of the Ukrainian Football Association Andriy Pavelek with journalists, one of his colleagues drew attention to, among other things, a glaring inconsistency. The release of a corrupt functionary into the world was announced (as well as most PR actions related to him) with pathos. And in the end, the ersatz pre-show took place in some kind of cramped mess, which, however, only unnecessarily emphasized the real status of the event, its absolute malaise.
Why, in the House of Football, where there are as many as four conference halls, was there no other place for journalists, except for a container decorated with a "wool"? Is it not because the credo - "although not magnificent, but cozy" - should have become a suitable background for demagogic reflections, meaningless answers and usual accusations from Mr. Pavelko?
After all, only filtered representatives of the pen and microphone were admitted to the meeting, and the list of topics and questions for discussion was carefully filtered by moderators right on the spot. To be cozy...
There is another version. Perhaps the citizen under investigation Pavelko A.V. similarly seeks to get used to the near future. Given the number and content of the criminal proceedings opened against the football official and his closest aides, the prospect of eventually finding himself in a confined space is quite likely. Especially in light of the anti-corruption processes that have rocked the country recently.
Be that as it may, the magical reduction of the luxurious five-story office of the UAF to a "room-type room" demonstrably characterizes the entire process of managing national football by Pavelek and his company. Our nation's favorite ball seems to be made of brown leather - it dries up, shrinks, eats away. And the attempt to blame everything on Russian aggression is inappropriate and harmful.
Long before the war in Ukraine, clubs and even entire tournaments began to disappear - Pavelka only waved his hands. The efforts of the "crisis management team", instead of the mythical Marshall Plan, focused on rewriting laws and regulations. And also on the equipment with artificial grass and the construction of pitches, with the merciless milking of the state treasury, offshores, saws and rollbacks. At the same time, the fortunes of the leaders and the employees of the UAF who were close to them increased in a geometrical progression, and the expenses for the needs of the national teams of Ukraine - just as steadily decreased.
Personnel policy of UAF is a separate conversation. The places of many of those experienced specialists, who gained international authority for the Ukrainian association, were taken by people with Russian citizenship or a fake diploma, as well as various types of "masters in the law" - tattooed specialists in shady schemes and dubious services.
Even Anatolii Konkov laughed out loud among Andrii Pavelka's consultants. Does Andriy Vasyliovych remember what characteristics he used to accompany the resignation of his predecessor? Suddenly there was a need for his consultations!
Unfortunately, the famous football player in the past is not the only one who agreed to sign under the dubious activities of the UAF, receiving a five- to six-figure fee for it. It's a pity, because it's bitter to watch how yesterday's idols, not reacting to the toxicity of the unclean at the hands of the employer, turned into a banal mass under his tool, including in court sessions with a predictable ending.
They should not only be enrolled in high-profile positions, but also encouraged to engage in truly useful activities. And - according to the sky-high salaries - ask about the results! What achievements, for example, can the Council for the Strategic Development of Professional Football of the UAF (chairman — Andriy Pavelko, co-chairman — Oleg Blokhin, among the deputy chairmen — Oleg Protasov) boast? Is the Committee for the Strategic Development of Football (Chairman - Andriy Pavelko)? Or the Committee of National Teams (co-chairmen - Oleg Blokhin and Oleksiy Mykhailychenko, first deputy - Oleg Protasov)?
What exactly is the strategy they are following – for example, regarding the country's top team? The Ukrainian national team will start in the Euro-2024 qualifying tournament in two months, and the team is still without a coach! Nonsense, you say, case study? But "strategists" from the House of Football do not think so. It cannot be that there was nothing at all. That seems to be their entire doctrine.
Contact Myron Markevich? The same claimed that at one time he received a promise from Pavelko: after Andriy Shevchenko, the national team would go to him - that's why he served as a wedding general (often on call) in the position of head of the national team committee. Just get to the bottom of it, think about it: on the one hand, there is a kind of Zhdun in a responsible position, on the other, a blue-and-yellow wife, then effectively "privatized", but now abandoned to her own devices. Like a precious toy that has already worn out...
And this is just the tip of our football iceberg, which has been drifting freely for eight years. And the main part is not at all more optimistic, because "the ends are in the water" is another one of the principles of the functioning of the current UAF. To which law enforcement also opposes the specifics of arguments and evidence. Despite all the claims of fakes and the arbitrary nature of the harassment. Despite fake "public" outrage and "warnings" from FIFA and UEFA. Despite the artful directing of "camera press conferences".
Vasyl VOYTYUK for Dynamo.kiev.ua
