Head coach of Lviv's Karpaty Myron Markevych shared his impressions of the first spring rounds of the Ukrainian championship.
- I followed the tour. In Mynai, I attended the game against Metalist 1925. I watched Shakhtar vs Kryvbas. It's hard to talk about anything now. "Minaj started well. They didn't lose to Dnipro-1, but they could have won. They beat Metalist 1925 cleanly. If they continue to play like this, they will definitely not be relegated from the UPL.
- The championship is long but unpredictable. "Minaj won for the first time this season, and the leader has already changed. Are there any passing matches in this championship?
- Well, you see, everyone wants to come out and play. The Kharkiv team is stronger in terms of composition, but what's the point? If they were completely outrun and outplayed. It's good that it was only 2-0, not more. Well, I can say that because Karpaty played a control game with Minaj. The team is improving, you can see the coach's work.
- Fans appeared in the stands. What were your emotions when you heard the fans' support for the first time in a long time?
- It's a completely different football now. There are not many of them in the stands, but they supported us with such enthusiasm that it even rubbed off on the players on the pitch. That's why the result was so good. Fans have an impact on the game. Even a small number is important. If they are there, it gives some strength to the players.
- It was said that Kryvbas is physically ready now more than anyone else. But they lost to Shakhtar in a big way.
- But those are all equal teams. It's hard to say that we have a leader. Any team can win or lose. And if the refereeing is still normal, then everything will be unpredictable. There is no clear leader in the UPL, that's for sure.
- Andriy Shevchenko is the president of the UAF. Have you already felt any changes in particular?
- No, it will take some time. He has only been in office for a month. It takes time.
- Refereeing changes in terms of the draw before matches and a lie detector. How do you like these innovations?
- This is all done correctly. We hope that everything will be fine. It's okay that young referees will be judging key games. What's the big deal? Let them switch on. I can say from the First League that the refereeing was quite qualified. Let them gain experience, why not?
- Do you think such changes in this direction are a plus?
- Of course it is. Let them prove themselves. As for the lie detector, there are the cases of Kateryna Monzul and the UAF. I think they should change something so that the refereeing does not affect the result. That's all. And how they do it is their problem.
- Is arbitration in the UPL making progress?
- The refereeing is completely different. They let you play, there are no meaningless whistles when a player is lying around for 5 minutes. This all affects the rhythm of the game. Now I'm watching two rounds, and this is not the case. The speed of football is completely different.
Nazariy Shmigil