The head coach of the first-league Khust Volodymyr Tsytkin commented on the accusations against his team by journalists Volodymyr Zverov and Ihor Tsyhanyk in the allegedly contractual match with Prykarpattia (0:7).
Vladimir Tsitkin- Vladimir Borisovich, a few days ago, journalists Igor Tsyganik and Vladimir Zverov suspected that your team's match with Prykarpattia was a match-fixing match. Have you read about it?
- I heard something, but I haven't read or watched anything about it in detail. I don't watch Tsyganik, let alone Zverov, whom I don't know and haven't heard of.
- Can't you say anything about this match because the accusations were serious?
- Yes, I can. I'll start by saying that there is a Spanish proverb: "Sleeping with the mind creates monsters". Have you heard of it? It's an interesting old Spanish saying, and even the famous artist Francisco Goya named one of his paintings after it. I advise everyone to read what this proverb means.
Coming back to football, I will say again that the sleep of the mind creates monsters, and if, in addition to the mind, there is also a sleep of conscience, it creates such pseudo-professionals as Tsyganik and Zverov, and who else?
- Do you have any complaints about your players?
- We have analysed this game, we had game and psychological problems, as well as some others. Tsyhanyk has been playing football for many years, and I've never heard of the other one.
- Zverov is the editor-in-chief and presenter of the Profootball Digital programme.
- I don't know him. I hardly ever communicate with correspondents and don't read what they write or say, because we have very few serious sports journalists. Most of them, like Tsyganik, can even be written with a small letter.
I mean, I don't read or listen to them, but if they make some kind of a stir, then one of two things can happen: either the sleep of the mind gives rise to pseudo-professionals like Tsyganik and Zverov, or if they have evidence, then let them go to court. This is a criminal case, and let them get on with it. What can I say? If they prove anything, I will be the first to go to prison.
You can't argue with a fool, because you stoop to their level, and I don't want to stoop to their level. Let them do what they want, and I do my job and I have enough reputation in football to ignore it.
- So it turns out that you got through to your players, because in the next match Khust defeated Podillia 2-1?
- We tried, we could have won or lost. "Khust is a newcomer to the First League. We lost four leading players after the start of the season. Most of the guys are making their debut at this level. We play honestly all the time, our team has never played and will never play suspicious matches.
Do you know what hurt me a little bit? The journalist said: "My sources are in the team". He doesn't have any sources in the team, it's a blatant lie, but if he has sources, then let him go to Madrid, where Atletico beat Rayo Vallecano 7-0, and let him deal with this case.
Did Baranka tell him anything about this game? If he did, let him tell him about this meeting as well.
Pavlo Klymenko
