Oleksandr Hlyvynskyi, spokesperson for the Ukrainian national team and president of the Association of Sports Journalists of Ukraine, commented on the problems that sports delegations may face due to the non-return of their employees to Ukraine.
Alexander Glyvinsky"I don't know these people personally, but it seems like they were waiting for this moment to run away abroad"
- Oleksandr, two former employees did not return from a trip abroad with the club. How will this case affect the possibility of sports delegations travelling abroad in the future?
- I don't know how the Ministry of Youth and Sports will act because I don't work in the licensing system. But it definitely casts a shadow over all journalists, because these two people travelled as part of a sports delegation. No one is immune from such incidents. I don't know these people personally, but it seems as if they were waiting for this moment to flee abroad. This is shameful and disgusting.
It's hard to say how much this case will affect the departure of sports delegations in the future, but I hope it will affect the quality of the vetting of travellers. Although it is difficult to predict what is in a person's head. For example, the action of comedian blogger Andriy Shchegel, who travelled to Turkey and did not return to Ukraine, forced the Ministry of Culture to make the permit system more stringent.
This shows that there are many weak and insufficiently patriotic people. We all endure, help the army and wait for our victory, but these people [who did not return] probably have different values. Perhaps these people are looking for a better job abroad or a quieter life. The war continues and it reveals weaknesses in society.
"Each member of the sports delegation signs a receipt addressed to the Ministry of Youth and Sports"
- In an interview, Lopatin said that no one instructed him to return to Ukraine and he did not sign any documents. Can this be true?
- In any case, the club receives a letter from the Ministry of Youth and Sports, which lists all the people who are allowed to travel as part of the delegation. It also says from what date to what date the delegation has the right to stay abroad. You can leave later, but not earlier, and return no later than the specified date.
This document is shown at the border, and Ukrainian border guards check each name against the system. So it is impossible to forge such a letter. Therefore, I doubt that these two did not know that they had to return by a certain date. Lopatin's words are some kind of fairy tales that do not stand up to any criticism.
In addition, each member of the sports delegation signs a receipt addressed to the Ministry of Youth and Sports, undertaking to return to Ukraine after the events for which they are allowed to travel. When the national team leaves, each player and staff member writes such a letter. But this question should be asked of Kryvbas: did all employees sign such a letter? There should be an answer from the club.
- How can we deal with such cases in the future to avoid fugitives? Perhaps we should appoint a responsible person?
- I don't know if such radical methods are necessary. We know the law, that we live in wartime and everyone has to be responsible. We don't live in the USSR to send a special supervisor from the authorities to keep an eye on everything. Ukrainians are free but responsible people. I think the club will have problems with trust in its employees before the next trip.
Andrii Piskun
