Former head coach of Kyiv Dynamo and the Ukraine national football team Yozhef Sabo has spoken out on the subject of officiating in the current Ukrainian championship.
Jozsef Szabo- Why are there so many officiating scandals in the UPL this spring and does it affect the balance of power in the standings?
- Indeed, refereeing, unfortunately, is now in the foreground. We all know the names of the referees, because they commit so many mistakes. I do not know what they will do in the UPL with refereeing, but it cannot go on like this. Those are wrongly awarded penalties, those are red cards... Referees must go on the field and judge, not just whistle.
- Must the championship contenders' matches be officiated by the VAR system?
- Absolutely. And there cannot even be any other solution in this matter. But those referees who work on VAR must also be honest and when there is a controversial situation to get things right. And it is surprising that now there was no VAR in the match between Dnipro 1 and Oleksandriya.
- How do you feel about the fact that the clubs themselves have decided to purchase the VAR system?
- The other day I read that Shakhtar will buy the VAR system and hand it over to the UPL, frankly, I laughed at it, because it will not change anything. In UPL they decide for themselves where that VAR should be. And in general it's a shame that clubs buy these systems, don't the UPL have any money? And these clubs that buy them - well done, because everyone who cares about Ukrainian football wants the game to be fair.
