The past seven days were marked by matches of the Ukrainian championship. On Monday, the final three matches of the 25th round were played, and last weekend - seven matches of the next round.
There are only four game days left until the end of the championship, less than a month, during which three postponed games will be played. Including two games involving the main contenders for gold - Dynamo and Shakhtar.
Naturally, at the end of the season, sports media follow the twists and turns of events in the main national football competition with special fondness, not losing sight of any nuances concerning the distribution of final places, especially in the upper part of the standings.
The convincing home victory of Kyiv Dynamo over Polesie (3:0) caused a burst of positive comments about the team's game from the press.
"Dynamo" simply ran over "Polesie". Not a single moment at Buschan's goal, no sharpness. In the first round Polesie aggressively pressed, biting, putting pressure on the opponent. And now they closed in defence and created nothing in attack. "Dynamo destroyed Polesie by combining speed and individual skill", - we summarise the assessment in the words of commentator Viktor Vatsko(1927.kiev.ua, 23.04.24).
The author, sparing no epithets, particularly singles out three players in the Kyiv squad: "Yarmolenko's brains work much faster than the opponents' legs. Buyalsky again showed that he gives a lot to the team. And with Vanat, when he breaks in behind the backs of defenders, it is impossible to do anything"(1927.kiev.ua, 23.04.24).
Vanat and Buyalskyi, by the way, scored a goal each in that meeting and remained at the head of the scorers' race. Another goal was scored by Mykola Shaparenko, who according to the Premier League poll was named the best player of the 25th round, as well as his mentor Oleksandr Shovkovskiy - the best coach.
And super-experienced Andriy Yarmolenko added: " It is important to say whether it was our best game, or maybe it is still ahead, but the fact that we played well both in attack and in defence is unquestionable. And this applies not only to certain lines, but to the whole team. Especially against such an opponent as Polissya, which I consider a strong team"(Fcdynamo.com, 26.04.24).
Vladyslav Vanatu will surely remember the match with Polissya also because the next day he signed a new three-year contract with Dynamo - until 30 June 2027.
"I am very glad to continue cooperation with my home club. All my life I wanted to play for this team, and now I can do it. I will continue to try to do my best on the football field to glorify Dynamo. Ialso want to go to the European Championship and play there for the national team," the striker admitted (Fcdynamo.com, 22.04.24).
Kyiv goalkeeper Heorhiy Buschan, for whom the match with Zhytomyrians became the 100th match in the shirt of the capital club in the national championships, was not left out of the press attention.
As for the chances for gold medals, he added that all the struggle is still ahead. Four points separate the team from the first place, but nothing is impossible. The main thing is not to stumble.
In the previous media review it was said that the match of Kyiv Dynamo with Polesie was visited by Mircea Lucescu, the ex-head coach of Kyivians.
"Mister decided to see how the team plays, he is interested in it. He gave many guys a way into big football. It was important for me to hear how he sees the situation. Lucescu said that the team is clearly progressing", - said the president of the capital club Igor Surkis on the air of the programme Pro Football Digital(Footballhub.ua, 23.04.24).
According to Igor Surkis, Lucescu did not single out anyone personally, but he liked Shaparenko, Mikhavko, Popov. Vanat added a lot. And Yarmolenko is Yarmolenko, his presence on the pitch is of great importance for the team.
At the same time, FC Dynamo president admitted that he was not joking at all when determining a high price for midfielder Mykola Shaparenko: "I read that Sudakov costs 150 million. But if this is true, then Shaparenko, when he gains optimal conditions, will cost 300 million..."(Footballhub.ua, 23.04.24).
Igor Surkis' firm confidence in assessing the potential of his team's players, as well as his answer to another piquant question - about "third-party incentivisation of opponents" - aroused intense media interest. In less than a day, the Dynamo president was quoted by 34 websites, on the basis of which more than fifty materials were published.
"I don't know who is stimulating whom. I know one thing: we must not lose our points. And about incentivisation, if it's banned, then that's what will happen. There are 22 players on the pitch who play for their wages. We should reward our players for a good game, not incentivise someone," Ihor Surkis said (Dynamo.kiev.ua, 23.04.24).
Obviously, the questions about incentives arose for a reason. The thing is that on the eve of the match between Kyiv and Polesie there were hints that some third party was persistently offering Zhytomyrians financial support.
Journalist Igor Cyganyk spoke on this topic: "The bosses of Wolves replied that they provide enough for their players to give their best. And they rejected the offer" (Footballgazeta.com, 22.04.24).
In principle, far from idle allegations about incentivising opponents by a third party in Ukrainian football have been going on for quite a long time and escalate, which is quite natural, at the end of the season.
The same practice, for example, was common in Spain back in the 1980s, but later in Europe it did not catch on. If only because, after all, stimulation from the outside contradicts the spirit of respectful sports rivalry.
In our country, such a fashion was not considered a crime until recently. We'll see how it will be dealt with in the future, but it seems that something is beginning to change.
"From the 2024/2025 season, financial incentives for rivals will be officially banned, " sport24.ua reported in the first decade of April, citing its sources. - Even now it is not encouraged, but the official attitude to such practice is not fixed. Now the UAF intends to correct this.
Itis expected that before the start of the next season, the Code of Ethics and Fair Play will contain a clause on the complete and unambiguous prohibition of incentives - that is, financial remuneration to one of the participants in a match from a third party to achieve the result it needs"(Sport24.ua, 10.04.24).
And colleagues added: "To begin with, the relevant Ethics and Fair Play Committee should get its new head, who will be appointed at the next meeting of the UAF Executive Committee"(Ua-football.com, 10.04.24).
Last Friday, 26 April, such an appointment took place.
"The UAF Executive Committee at its meeting ukhvalivaniv decision on the suspension of the powers of the entire staff of the Committee, which was voiced by Francesco Baranca. Andriy Davydenka was appointed as the new head of the Committee for Ethics and Fair Play,who was instructed to prepare and submit to the UAF president proposals on the number of members, responsibilities, duties and functions of the committee," the official website of the national association said(Uaf.ua, 26.04.24).
The UAF recalled that 38-year-old Andriy Davidenko heads the federation's Internal Investigation Service for unlawful behaviour of participants in football competitions. Before that, he worked for many years in law enforcement agencies and has experience of co-operation with the UAF in the fight against influence on the results of football matches.
Before Saturday's match between Dnipro-1 and Dynamo Kyiv, the media got excited about the possible transfer of the match to the capital. Vyacheslav Fridman, the commercial director of Dnipro confirmed that such a proposal from the rival had been received. But immediately notified that it was not accepted.
"Dynamo players refer to the fact that there are less worries in Kyiv, the players will feel safer. But in this case, we will have to go to Lviv to play with Shakhtar, to Kryvyi Rih - to meet with Kryvbas. But we want to have some kind of fair-play, so that Dnipro-1 does not look biased. And the players are determined to play at home ", - explained the position of his club Fridman(Ua.tribuna.com, 22.04.24).
Also publicly, Fridman did not rule out that the players of his club may have that very additional - financial! - interest from the side...
Besides, of course, nobody cancelled the tournament tasks facing Dnipro directly. In addition, Yuriy Maksimov's team was psychologically fuelled by the away victory over Dynamo in the first round (1:0).
"Of course, Oleksandr Shovkovskiy's team is expecting an extremely difficult match," agreed the ubiquitous TV journalist Igor Cyganyk on the eve of the central game of the 26th round. - God forbid that we avoid a lot of air raids. Forced pauses are a negative moment that can prevent the players from adjusting to the set pace"(Footballhub.ua, 26.04.24).
Andriy Yarmolenko did not expect a simple walk in the meeting with Dnipro: "Our matches have never been easy, therefore, we expect a serious game. We have every match now, even the final. Weunderstand well: if we lose points, we can forget about the championship"(Fcdynamo.com, 26.04.24).
Unfortunately, it was not without anxiety. As early as 15 minutes into the game, the teams were forced to take shelter because of the danger of a rocket attack (besides, there had already been explosions in Dnipro earlier in the morning).
It seemed that the teams would go to the locker rooms with zeros on the scoreboard. However, shortly before the break an episode happened that put Dynamo in an extremely difficult position.
"The Bilo-Syni were shocked by Gutsulyak. This goal was out of the general logic of the match. Svatok from his own half of the field launched a top pass, which was deflected by Popov and Mikhavko. As Oleksandr Shovkovs'kyi said after the match, the centre-backs made a childish mistake. TheDnipro winger squeezed them away with his body and from a sharp angle beautifully threw theball over Buschan", - Vladislav Lichik described the key moment of the first half of the game (Ua-football.com, 27.04.24).
It is clear that at half-time Oleksandr Shovkovskiy had to make efforts to bring his charges to their senses. Andriy Yarmolenko also said his weighty word. As Vladislav Kabaev admitted after the game, the coach gave the players confidence, saying that he continues to believe in them. And Yarmolenko got his partners going, gathering the team before the second half in an energetic circle and psychologically inspiring them.
And already in the 49th minute Dynamo equalised the score.
"The second half bilo-blues started very aggressively, created several potential threats. A great combination in the penalty area ended with Vanat on a wonderful position, but the Kievan forward fell - it seemed that he was hit on the leg. The incidentcontinued, and Kabaev played effectively on the rebound, having made a powerful shot through two defenders, " stated Vlad Mirenko(Footclub.com.ua, 27.04.24).
The match reached its denouement in the final minutes. Dynamo increased the onslaught on the Dnipro defence, the home team players sometimes simply kicked the ball into touch. And in one of the episodes one of the defenders put Brazhko on the lawn with a wrestling tackle. Penalty?!
"Yes, it seemed to everyone that Brazhko was fouled. But the referee said that when the ball went into touch, he would look at that moment. Tymchyk kicked the ball into touch, but the referee said to play", - one of its main protagonists Vladyslav Vanat told after the match(Dynamo.kiev.ua, 27.04.24).
Referee Yuriy Ivanov really did not even try to view the controversial episode on the monitor. Thus, it turns out, he misled the young players, willingly or unwillingly.
As a consequence, after that, the annoyed Oleksandr Tymchyk, trying to catch up with Ocheretko, caught him on the leg from behind. For what he immediately saw a straight red card....