The Referees Committee of the Ukrainian Football Association has explained the interpretation of the game episode of the 15th round of the 2023/2024 Ukrainian Championship match between Shakhtar and Polissya.
"Shakhtar vs Polissya. Referee: Igor Paskhal.
10 mins.
Decision on the field: free kick/yellow card.
Correct decision: free kick/yellow card.
Explanation: FC Polissia player #11, who is trying to fight for the ball, is outstripped by the opponent who played first. As is often the case in such situations, contact between the players' feet is unavoidable, and therefore it happened unintentionally due to the delay of the FC Polissia player. At the same time, this tackle did not contain such intensity or force as to pose a threat to the opponent's health. For this reason, it must be considered a foul committed in a reckless manner, and the dynamics and intensity of the tackle did not contain excessive force or brutality, despite the fact that the point of contact was slightly higher than in a normal tackle.
VAR: VAR is correctly limited to checking what happened, as the referee correctly issued a warning to player No. 11 of FC Polissia.