Exactly 8 years have passed since Andriy Pavelko led Ukrainian football. Already today, football and football-related people are saying that the March vote in 2015 was a mistake. A mistake with long-term consequences for the development of the "number one sport" of Ukraine.
And what was Pavelko remembered for in his position?! He "steering" for 8 years. Almost a record holder... 7 key words to describe it better.
"Clanism"
The encyclopedic dictionary of the modern Ukrainian language indicates that a "clan" is a shadowy, closed group that does not have a legitimate organization and was formed on the basis of the common interests of its members. The basis of clannishness is economic, material interest. The soil on which clanism grows is the shadow economy.
There were many clans in Ukraine: the "Donetsk" clan, the "Dnipropetrovsk" clan, and so on. In Ukrainian football, with the coming to power of Andriy Vasyliovych, a clan was formed. Part of this "association" is "downed pilots" with a stellar football past. For "doing nothing", they receive exorbitant salaries and play the role of a kind of "lightning rod": they give out uninteresting interviews, praise Andriy Vasyliovych and make "official and unofficial (in one word)" statements.
The rest of this clan are people from the main functionary's former life. They also have inflated official salaries, are involved in schemes and help the "patron" solve sensitive issues. As an example, the "right hand" and "left leg" of Pliev and Kostyuchenko can be named. The first, to put it mildly, is indirectly related to football. The second one allegedly worked in this field before joining the federation, but he gravitated more towards martial arts.
Scandals
Obviously, with such a "dream team" it is important not to get into a scandal. At the beginning of Pavelko's "career", there were procedural "misunderstandings" - the team violated the requirements of the international organizations "FIFA" and "UEFA".
And then like a snowball: the Champions League cup is not in the right hands, violations of the football regulations of the Ukrainian championship, Kostyuchenko's "diploma scandal" and ....and damm numerous corruption investigations of reputable journalists. Thanks to this, in the third year of the federation's management, the deputy - official - functionary Andriy Vasyliovych became the talk of the town. They talked mainly about corruption. Against her background, all football successes simply faded. That's how the national team played. Played under the leadership of the mega successful Andrii Shevchenko. The team "played" for the first time and won. Sometimes even with very strong opponents on the field. Andriy Vasyliovych always recorded these successes in his assets. While any failure was attributed by the official to "someone".
And then there was a huge and fateful scandal for Ukrainian football. On August 1, 2021, it turned out that the head coach of the national team, Andriy Shevchenko, is no longer the coach of the team... the best, most successful, most productive, legendary man was left without a contract and without a job.
Then some journalists reminded that Andriy Vasyliovych and Andriy Mykolayovych were godfathers. And the "termination" of the contract is not related to football matters, but to personal ones. Mr. Pavelko did not forgive the "relative" of success.
The "achievements" of this period include the disappearance of several football clubs from the map of Ukraine. Pavelko, of course, can say that this issue is not for him... But then why should the federation, association and football organizations in general, if they do not protect and support football teams.
Corruption
Andriy Vasyliovych's first "five-year" was marked by a flurry of journalists' investigations into the corrupt activities of Andriy Vasyliovych's "dream team". At first, Bihus Info journalists made a story in the program "Our Money" and called it "League of football corruption. Who earns on green lawns”. Today, the competent authorities are "furthering" this investigation, and in the Pechersk Court, the suspect Pavelko and his deputy Yuriy Zapisotskyi were ordered to take a preventive measure in the form of bail. Almost twenty million hryvnias for two.
Then there were stories on Radio Freedom. It all came down to one thing - the money that goes to the organization managed by Pavelka's team disappears without a trace. Currently, there are about a dozen criminal proceedings involving colleagues of the president of the UAF.
While Pavelko was in power and was a member of ex-president Poroshenko's political team, he managed to avoid NABU investigations, NAKC inspections and responsibility as such... Now everything has changed. Investigation. Suspicion. Pledge. Removal from office.
Incompetence
The word "incompetence" best suits the current head of "UAF". For 8 years, 4 head coaches have changed on the "throne" of the national team of Ukraine. Remember at least one "case" when the team leader came to his post or left quietly and without scandals? More or less adequately (this word is most appropriate here) Andrii Shevchenko took the position.
A replacement for the legendary coach was searched for in a fire order. It is in the fire: in the middle of the season, in a group with bad results and no time to swing. Another legendary person was appointed. World champion coach Oleksandr Petrakov. Appointed in super-difficult circumstances. First - to save the national team from disgrace... and then... and then there was a war and the coach solved difficult tasks in critical conditions... In short, the national team went through this period more or less stably and with dignity. Yes, the national team lost the decisive match for qualifying for the World Cup, the fourth World Cup in a row... On January 1, Petrakov's contract expired and he left... "Pavelko & Co" had half a year to search for or extend the contract. And who or what is next?! And then acting in the appearance of the three-pronged Ruslan Rotan and the vague prospects of Serhii Rebrov to lead the national team.
At the moment, only one thing is clear - the great "specialist" Andriy Pavelko made a straw for himself in an extremely difficult group in the selection for Euro 2024. If the stars of the England and Italy national teams line up around the "scales" of Andriy Pavelko and the Ukrainian national team takes a passing place, then it is not difficult to say , who is "well done"... And if the stars do not rise, then they will appoint "someone" with a surname and first name beginning with the letter "R" as the culprit.
Ribs
The issue of Rebrov's appointment raises many reservations and questions. Without a doubt, Rebrov is a very cool specialist. He, like Shevchenko, went through a unique school from the Ukrainian Valery Lobanovsky to the British George Graham. Sergey Stanislavovych knows what he wants and how to achieve it. And despite the great desire to train the national team of Ukraine, there is one thing in the history of relations: the national team of Ukraine does not have its own training base. That is, the money was allocated for it. And even land was bought in Knyazhychy, but the wagon is still there. Although, no, not there, the money from FIFA and UEFA is gone. And there is no base. And there is no coach. And it won't. An ambitious coach will not coach the national team - homeless. This is an axiom. Because you can't train a cool team in a field where cows graze. And this is also an axiom. Let's see. But it is already clear how incompetent the UAF is.
War
This became especially noticeable with the beginning of the war. One often gets the impression that Andriy Vasyliovych does not live in the Ukraine of 2022-2023, but in China of the first millennium BC. And his life credo is a quote from Lao Tzu: "If someone has done you wrong, do not rush into battle and do not rush to take revenge, just sit on the river bank and wait for the body of the offender to float by...".
One month after Russia's full-scale attack on Ukraine, FIFA decides to make Russian the official language of FIFA. What about UAF?! Maybe "tore and metals"? Oh no! At first, the UAF office said that they had prepared a special video about Orc atrocities in the Kyiv region... and then FIFA banned it. I just decided not to show it... But "the corpse of the enemy arrived"... more precisely, international organizations suspended clubs from the orchestra from international competitions... Andriy Vasiliovych traditionally went out to the audience, spread his arms to the sides and shouted "It's me, I did it, it's all me.'
And there were many cases where the UAF stood and waited on the sidelines: there were "Lack of reaction to Zelenskyi's blocked appeal before the final of the World Cup", "Paid fine for the statement of the head coach of the Ukrainian national team Oleksandr Petrakov at the request of the Russian Football Union", "Lack of protection of Ukrainian clubs from the side of the UAF due to the new transfer rules of FIFA" and so on... and the "corpses of enemies" never float by.
The latest case of inactivity of UAF officials, led by the president of the association, is a scandal involving the technical sponsor of the national team, the Joma company. Judging by everything, the Spaniards have signed a contract with the Russian club "Zenit" (this is where the traitor of Ukraine Tolik Tymoshchuk works) to bypass the sanctions and are sewing an exclusive uniform for the Orks. In protest, Lviv "Karpaty" refused the contract with this manufacturer, and "Kryvbas" plastered their emblem at matches of the championship of Ukraine. In a word, the football community understands what happened and that it is necessary to find another uniform manufacturer... But Andriy Vasyliovych does not understand this. The association is silent. And it is better to say - he pretends that he is not silent and does not understand anything.
And this is the t-shirt of the national team of Ukraine on the official website: https://joma.ua/ukraine-national-team/AT101856A907/ of the manufacturer. Here, under the collar on the back is the inscription "Glory to Heroes"?
But UEFA banned our national team from playing in this uniform, and then the inscription "Glory to Heroes" was removed. And who was strongly against this inscription on the Ukrainian uniform? Erephia, of course. And it looks like they did it quietly, as always. And as always, well done Federation.
Avarice
This part of the text is the most difficult to write. And therefore the quote: according to the source, the income of the first vice-president of the UAF, Alan Pliev, in November 2022 was 226 thousand hryvnias. The scandalous general director Yuriy Zapisotsky receives 268 thousand hryvnias. Vice-President Oleg Blokhin receives 172,000 hryvnias, Igor Belanov - 125,000, Anatoly Demyanenko - 225,000, and Oleksiy Mykhailichenko - 329,000. The head of the ethics committee Francesco Baranca receives 471 thousand hryvnias, the curator of the committee of referees Nicola Rizzoli - 376 thousand, the head of the committee of referees Luciano Lucci - 675 thousand.
And add to these sums another 20 MILLION hryvnias of bail for Pavelko and Zapisotskyi. So, the association has money. Is this a bug?!
Remembered. And now read on, quote again: The salary of the coaching staff of the youth national team of Ukraine was radically reduced in 2022. This was told by journalist Viktor Watsko. "The coaching staff of the youth national team of Ukraine has had its salary cut by 50 percent since April 2022. At the same time, another 30 percent was deducted from this amount for the time when the team is not going to prepare for matches," Watsko said...
A similar story with other coaches. What does this mean for football development? Nothing good. Unfortunately. Children's coaches received meager salaries from the federation and association at the level of school teachers. Those who were more or less distinguished by successful performances fled abroad. I wonder if the management of the association knows that in football there is a "law of the jungle": who plays better - earns more, earns more - invests more in the development of football, invests more in the development of football - plays better... What will happen if wages are cut coaches, it's not hard to guess... it's like cutting off the head of the hen that lays the golden eggs.
Usurpation (instead of epilogue)
And who is Andriy Pavelko now? At this point? At the moment you are reading this text? Putting aside all his "achievements and successes", "failures and disgrace", "corruption and greed" who is this man? WHO?! And this gentleman's mandate ended in March 2022. Then the football officials had to hold an election or re-election. But due to the full-scale war with Russia, they did not take place. A year ago, Andrii Vasyliovych had no competitors, so his re-election could well have taken place... but already in July of last year, competitors appeared for this position. Football player and well-known volunteer Roman Zozulya announced his desire to run for the head of the UAF, and evil tongues began to talk that Andriy Shevchenko could also take part in the elections. Although, unlike Roman Zozuli, he himself has never and never made such statements. It is not known what was going on in the heads of the association's managers at that moment... but in September of last year, the Pechersk Court of the capital forbade the holding of elections.
It is not clear who these people are who initiated this legal proceeding, but it allowed Mr. Pavelka to remain in his position. It reminds me of something. Does it smell like a bulb? Or maybe botox? No? Well, ok, then... If we follow the logic, then the term of Pavelko's presidential mandate has expired. According to the same logic, he is V.O., acting. Yesterday, the Pechersk court removed him from his position, that is, he is no longer V.O. And if he is not VO, then who is? So, the congress and the federation have to appoint a new CEO in a short time? For example, Alan Pliev or Vadim Kostyuchenko, after all. And if Pavelko is going to return to his post again, can he do it without new elections? And if he returns to V.O.? Isn't that a usurpation of power? And if it is not usurpation, then why is he blackmailing everyone, that, allegedly, if he is imprisoned, Ukraine will be suspended from all international football competitions? And he still sues journalists, right?
Now, isn't this reminiscent of the speech of one figure from Belarus? He also said that if he leaves, the country he rules will no longer exist... And he is still sitting, withering on the gold.
