Last week's results left two clubs in the fight for UPL gold. "Dynamo continues to chase Shakhtar, which still has a 4-point lead, but the Kyiv team has the sympathy of the press and fans. And there is an explanation for this.
Photo — fcdynamo.comAs each game day in the Ukrainian Premier League comes to a close, more and more clarity is being added to the top of the standings.
After round 26, Dnipro-1 dropped out of the championship race. Last weekend saw Kryvbas eliminated from the gold medal hunters. Interestingly, the Kryvyi Rih team didn't even have time to play (their match against Dnipro was scheduled for this Monday) - their rivals decided everything for them.
Next Saturday, 11 May, the miners will host Kyiv in the central match of the season. And the outcome of this clash can either determine the winner of the UPL ahead of schedule or escalate the intrigue.
Mykhailo Fomenko passed away
...But last week, unfortunately, began with extremely sad news. The heart of Mykhailo Fomenko, an outstanding footballer of Dynamo Kyiv and former coach of the Ukrainian national team, stopped beating at the age of 76.
Ukrainian football has suffered a heavy loss - a man who enriched it with his knowledge, experience, outstanding professional and personal qualities has passed away.
Mikhail Fomenko was a star player in the legendary team of Valery Lobanovsky. Three USSR championships, two national cups, the Cup of Cups and the UEFA Super Cup were won with his direct participation. As a member of the USSR national team, he became the 1972 European vice-champion and bronze medallist at the 1976 Olympics.
By the way, as a coach, Mykhailo Ivanovych led Dynamo to the first championship title in independent Ukraine in the 1992/1993 season. Later, he also became one of the most successful managers of our national team, leading it from 2012 to 2016. His greatest success with the national team was reaching Euro 2016.
Dynamo Kyiv expressed its condolences to Mykhailo Ivanovych's family, all his relatives and friends (Fcdynamo.com, 29.04.24).
The commemoration of Fomenko's memory also preceded the start of the match of the 26th round of the UPL, in which his former team Dynamo played at the field of the unyielding Dnipro-1...
Leonid Buryak's expert opinion
Despite the sad news that unfortunately brings us everyday, as well as the explosions and constant air raids in cities all over Ukraine, it would seem that such an unpredictable finish of the national championship should inspire and fill the entire football community with pride.
But there is one "but". We all notice that this struggle takes place not only on the green lawns of stadiums, but also in the darkness behind the scenes. This was confirmed by the match between Dynamo and Dnipro-1, or rather the arbitration of this match, the audacity of which caused outrage even among experts.
In particular, Leonid Buryak, Mykhailo Fomenko's long-term partner in the fantastically star-studded Kyiv team and the then national team, spoke out about the events at the Dnipro Arena.
"Thematch in Dnipro was very messy, but it is only a link in a series of games marked by questionable decisions of the referees. And only a blind person would not notice a clear trend when one club is being pulled up by its bootstraps while its rivals are being putthrough the wringer," he said in an interview with the popular website Dynamo.kiev.ua (02.05.24), citing many examples of circumstances somehow playing in Shakhtar's favour.
"The refereeYuriy Ivanov was determined to make life as difficult as possible for Dynamo, who nevertheless got their way - thanks to their character, skill and despite the referee's decisions. You don't need to be an expert to note the inconsistency and unevenness of several of his verdicts. Those who followed the events of the match at the Dnipro Arena understand what exactlywe are talking about," Buryak added (Dynamo.kiev.ua, 02.05.24).
Obviously, a professional assessment of the arbitrariness that still reigns in Ukrainian club football had to get out sooner or later. After all, discussions on this topic have been going on for years on the Internet. All that was missing was a qualified confirmation of what journalists and fans had long understood.
Therefore, it is not surprising that the interview with the former coach of the Ukrainian national team aroused great interest among readers. In the first day alone, this material received over 12,000 views!
However, users of other portals also had the opportunity to read Buryak's thoughts, as his "hottest" quotes were actively spread across the pages of many electronic publications. Indeed, in their reports on the match in Dnipro, the media themselves noted that in the first half, when the game was given to the hosts, there were no particular questions about the refereeing.
But after the break, the situation changed radically.
"There wereenough one-sided refereeing decisions. For example, when Dnipro's Babenko deliberately knocked down Vivcharenko without receiving a yellow card, and a minute later a similar violation of the rules by Andrievsky led to a warning. Or when Ocheretko deliberately blocked Voloshin's high-speed breakthrough, the referee also blew his whistle..." (Pressing.net.ua, 03.05.24).
Therefore, it was quite understandable that Dynamo coach Oleksandr Shovkovskyi did not accept the episode with the punishment of Kyiv's leader Yarmolenko with a mustard for simply touching an opponent who had the ball.
"This is also quite an illustrative moment, because Oleksandr usually keeps himself calm and calm ," said Buriak, "but the coach was aware that all these so-called little things have a potential impact on the result. He saw how they threw his wards out of psychological balance, provoked them to certain rash actions" (quote from the source, Footboom1.com, 03.05.2024).
Later, Dyachuk received a yellow card for moving his hand in the fight with Ocheretko, although Hutsulyak did the same in the selection when he opened the scoring. Babenko, who threw Shepelev to the turf with both hands, did not receive a fair punishment, two opponents knocked Vanat down at once, but the referee did not even see a violation of the rules...
What can and cannot VAR do?
The culmination of Ivanov's "work" came in the 88th minute of the match. During Dynamo's corner kick, he ignored the fall in the Dnipro-1 penalty area of Brazhko, who was openly grabbed by defender Sarapiy and knocked to the ground.
The situation was guaranteed to be one of those that VAR is obliged to review. Dynamo even kicked the ball out to speed up the process. But there was no intervention by the referee's video assistant. Otherwise, there would have been a mandatory pause in the game to consider the episode.
"I would have understood if Ivanov had insisted on the purity of the defender's action after watching the replays, but he didn't even go to the monitor! Butwhen, if not in such cases, should VAR be applied? " Buryak is sure. "Especially since in this case it was a very important game from a tournament point of view, the results of which could well be decisive" (quote from the source, Footclub.com.ua, 02.05.24).
Oleksandr Popov, editor-in-chief of Dynamo.kiev.ua , who was directly at the scene of the event, working at that match in Dnipro, expressed similar emotions.
"VAR was created just for such situations. Exactly for such situations! This is the very essence of VAR. Not using VAR in such situations is the same as if you needed to wash your hands and there was a sink, but you didn't open the water tap and were left with dirty hands. Well, in this situation, the VAR judges also, figuratively speaking, were left with dirty hands"(Dynamo.kiev.ua, 29.04.24).
Unfortunately, the Referees Committee of the Ukrainian Football Association did not provide a meaningful response to the key moment of the central match of the 26th round either.
"Rationale: "Player No. 5 (Dnipro-1), taking a risk, hugged player No. 6 (Dynamo) with both hands. We cannot say that these actions affect and lead to the attacker's fall and constitute a hold that impedes his motor capabilities," the UAF official website quoted the commentary of the Referees Committee(Uaf.ua, 02.05.24). " Therefore, it is a controversial situation to consider this as a violation due to the lack of a sense of influence. We believe that it is necessary to continue the game precisely because the mere fact of holding does not affect the player who, having slipped on the lawn, loses his balance and falls, and we do not want to award "easy" penalties."
And then there is an even more interesting interpretation of the VAR rules from the Committee!
"...For the reasons described above, with no clear images showing the impact of the hug on the attacker's fall, the VAA rightly limited itself to a silent review. We consider it appropriate to point out that even if a penalty had been awarded, the VAA would not have been able to intervene for the same reasons, as it would not have been able to clearly demonstrate that there was no connection between the hug and the attacker's fall" (Uaf.ua, 02.05.24).
To put it mildly, this casuistry shocked journalists and fans alike. To a specific question: "why was VAR not applied during the controversial Sarapiy-Brazhko episode?" they did not receive any adequate and competent explanations. Only a set of ambiguities, which then lead to the following:
Whatever decision the chief referee Ivanov made, the video assistant could not help him... So, only referee Ivanov is responsible for everything that happened! And those who are responsible for the work of VAR, for the work of the UAF Referees Committee - when necessary - can wash their hands of it?
A rhetorical question - so why are they needed then?
On the other hand, it's hard to imagine what the criticism from the supporters of the most popular club in the country would have been like if Kyiv hadn't pulled out the victory in Dnipro.
"Thefact remains: "Dynamo almost lost the points that could have been missing at the finish line," Buriak said in the above-mentioned interview (quoted from the original source, Pressing.net.ua, 02.05.24 ) . After all, in a 50-50 situation, he sent off Tymchyk, showed warnings to four other players, and Shaparenko and Dyachuk were banned for the game against Veres.
It is clear that the new UAF team, led by Andriy Shevchenko, will have to solve the problems that have been brewing for many years.
Will it be able to immediately take control of all the processes in the Football House? Does Sheva know how? After all, the refereeing issue has always been and still remains one of the key issues, and it has a significant impact on the stability of the football pulse.
"I haveno doubt that Andriy Shevchenko - with his mentality, experience, perfect knowledge of football, perseverance and integrity - will eventually deeply understand what is really happening here and how it is happening," said Buryak (quoted in the original source, Sport.ua, 02.05.24). - " I don't need to be convinced of how sincerely he loves football. Without this dedication, Sheva would not have achieved such fantastic success as a striker and later as a very wise and calculating coach.
Now it's time for Andriy Mykolayovych to serve football as a president. I don' t think he will be satisfied with a situation where his field of activity, for which he is now personally responsible, in particular, in the blessed memory of his teacher Lobanovsky, will again be spoken of as something second-rate, provincial, sharpened to satisfy the ego of some person" (Sport.ua, 02.05.24).
For Buriak, it is obvious that the UAF, headed by Shevchenko, and the league subordinated to the federation must create conditions for all clubs to have equal conditions for real sports competition and to be able to solve their problems exclusively on the football field.
"...As it happens in the strongest tournaments, in the Champions League, where any monopoly is impossible a priori," Leonid Buryak summed up (quoted from the source, Ua-football.com, 02.05.24) . Yes, both the UAF audit and the use of a polygraph are good, it's timely. But at the end of a difficult season, everyone is waiting for more effective and prompt steps aimed at creating a modern, truly competitive environment in our football."
Shovkovsky's script, Yarmolenko's lead role
To Dynamo's credit, the club itself did not escalate the situation around the events that are in the past on the eve of the new exams. "The White and Blues and their coaching staff simply have no time to be distracted by gossip and controversy.
On Wednesday, the Kyiv team had to play the postponed match of the 5th round with Veres, and on Sunday, the so-called regional derby with Kolos.
"Dynamo postponed so many matches in the autumn that they are now playing at a European Cup pace. Theeighth match in 32 days! " Football.ua reminded on the eve of the match. - In general, with this pace, it is surprising that Shovkovsky's team has lost points only twice in 15 games . Once of these two, however, it was with Veres (01.05.24).
That's exactly half the distance, and the new coach has recorded thirteen wins and two draws. This is a point scoring rate of 91.11% of the absolute maximum. In almost any season, this would be enough for the championship - and if Shovkovskyi had started working at least from the beginning of the season, Dynamo could have been the confident leader of the UPL," Football.ua calculated (01.05.24).
However, after the exhausting victory in Dnipro (2-1) and the draw (1-1) at Rivne's Avangard, journalists and fans were rather cautious in their predictions about the capital's new meeting with Oleg Shandruk's team.
Nevertheless, Shovkovskyi's men got three important points, winning 3-0.
"Keeping in mind thevery unfortunate and not entirely fair misfire in the away match, as well as taking into account personnel losses, Kyiv did not expect an easy game. However, the opponents were not able to field the optimal lineup, although in general they managed to defend quite effectively, almost constantly being behind the ball line with the whole team," - reported on the game with Veres Footclub.com.ua (01.05.24).
It should be noted that the visitors' plan worked well, but it lasted until the first mistake. The Rivne team made it at the end of the first half, when Andriy Yarmolenko successfully finished off a free kick from Volodymyr Brazhko.
This goal was the 34-year-old midfielder's 190th in his Ukrainian career. In doing so, he passed Serhii Rebrov to top the list of the top scorers of domestic teams since independence, and with 106 shots, he came in fourth place in the UPL, leaving Andrii Vorobei behind.
However, time was running out, the scoreline was still minimal, and the fans were involuntarily reminded of the match in Rivne, where Kyiv failed to increase their advantage and eventually lost. But there was no repeat of that scenario - Shovkovskyi's substitutes played.
The home coaching staff threw Matviy Ponomarenko into the fray, and the 18-year-old striker scored his debut goal in the top flight quite quickly. Soon after, he started a combination with a great penetrating pass, which was completed by Volodymyr Shepelev, another player whom the coach brought on in the second half.
"We didn't succeedin the first half, but we understood that after scoring the goal it would be a little easierfor us.In principle, that's what happened. Unfortunately, not all of our players could play today, but we have a full complement to make equivalent substitutions for such cases," the Dynamo manager revealed the secret of success at the post-match press conference (Fcdynamo.com, 01.05.2024).
Three days later, Kyiv had to play Kolos without Vladyslav Vanat. The championship's best sniper received a fourth warning, which led to his disqualification. Due to the absence of Supryaha and Ponomarenko's youth, the coaching staff decided to rely on experience, sending Yarmolenko, who was playing his 500th match in his club career, to the forefront of the attack.
This move paid off, although the audience did not see any goals before the break.
"In the first half, we were getting used to the game, although we always try to act from a position of strength. "Real Madrid also always wants to play from a position of strength, but they also have to work on defence. I am grateful to the guys for their patience. We want to win every moment and episode, but our opponents also have their own objectives. We will go our own way," Shovkovskyi explained the lack of goals scored in the first half (FootballHub, 05.05.2024).
And in this match, the first effective shot (after a conversation in the locker room) completely changed the situation. During Dynamo's free kick, Kovalivka scored an own goal. And soon after, Yarmolenko's composure in the final stages paved the way for the White and Blues to win a major victory.
"I'vejust told Yarmolenko: I'll have to wait a long time for you to become a sporting director if you score in every match ," said Ihor Surkis, the president of the capital's club, after the match on UPL TV . He is very stimulating for young guys who see his career.Due to his physical condition, he may not be able to do everything, but he is of great importance to Dynamo today with his charisma and the fact that he fights from the first to the last minute" (Footclub.com.ua, 05.05.2024).
Dynamo's attitude, ability to get results not only through class, but also through "I can't", open communication with the media and the creation of a positive atmosphere around the club in difficult times only increases the media's favour.
As a result, some of them do not even hide their desire for the Kyiv team to win the championship.
"It will be a good football story - remember where Dynamo was at the start of the season ," notes Ua.tribuna.com (01.05.24), or at least at the time of Lucescu's resignation - 8 points behind Shakhtar (Mircea's decision was preceded by a 0-1 defeat to the Shakhtar). And the Kyiv side were not favourites going into the season either, neither against the backdrop of the previous failed campaign, nor against the backdrop of the torment in the Conference League qualifiers we watched in the summer.
The very fact that Dynamo are still in contention for the championship under these circumstances and have already reduced the gap to 4 points with Shakhtar is already remarkable progress. However, this gap can also be compensated for - the second head-to-head match of the title contenders is ahead, and the rival also has an 'extra' match in the Cup, which requires additional strength"(Ua.tribuna.com, 01.05.24).
So, on Saturday, 11 May, at 18.00, the most important match of the current UPL season is due to start at Arena Lviv.
Other issues of football life
The boys got to know their opponents. On Friday, May 3, the draw for the qualifying rounds of the 2024/25 European Championship among players born in 2006 and 2008 took place in Nyon, Switzerland.
According to its results, the U-19 national team, led by Dmytro Mykhailenko, was placed in Quartet 1 along with the Netherlands, Slovenia and Kazakhstan. And the U-17 team, led by Yuriy Moroz, will play Belgium, Kosovo and Kazakhstan in the 4th qualifying group. The venue and dates of the tournaments will be announced later.
"In the competitions of the youngest, the two best teams of each group will advance to the second round of selection," reports the UAF official website (03.05.24). - After that, 28 participants in the spring of 2025 in seven groups of League A will compete for seven tickets to the final tournament, which will be held in Albania in the summer. The host team received a pass to the forum automatically, although it will take part in the qualifiers.
The rest of the teams in the second round will play in League B and compete for places in League A of the first qualifying round of Euro 2027 (U-19).It should be added that Euro 2025 (U-17) will be a selection for UEFA representatives for the 2025 FIFA World Cup in the U-17 category, which will be held with the participation of 48 national teams in Qatar" (Uaf.ua, 03.05.24).
In the U-19 category, the first two teams of each qualifying round group and the best third will qualify for the elite round of selection. Together with Portugal, in the spring of 2025, they will compete in seven groups for seven tickets to the final tournament.
Romania, as the host, received it automatically.
A new season for PFL teams. News about the football future in the country itself is gradually appearing in the press.
Thus, according to media reports, the new season for the clubs of the First and Second Leagues of Ukraine will start on 25-26 July. According to preliminary data, the first round of the Ukrainian Cup will take place on 1 August, which will also involve teams from lower divisions. These dates of the official competitions are yet to be approved by the PFL Conference.
In total, 38 teams will take part in the new season's competitions under the auspices of the PFL.
"In the new season, 18 teams are expected to participate in the First League. Club representatives are inclined to ensure that, as in the current Ukrainian championship, the competition will be held in two groups on a territorial basis. First of all, this will make it easier to solve logistical issues and save money. Thefirst stage will determine the participants who will continue to compete in the Champion's and Elimination groups," Sport.ua informs (29.04.24).
The Second League is expected to involve 20 teams, which will also compete in groups on a territorial basis. The specifics of the representation will be revealed in early June, when it is determined which amateur teams have successfully passed the certification. According to available data, the organisers of the championship already have a preliminary agreement on the participation in the Second League of other teams from the UPL - Rukh, Karpaty, Vorskla, Kolos(Sport.ua, 29.04.24).
Orest LELEKA
