UAF Secretary General Ihor Hryshchenko spoke about reserving footballers from mobilisation in times of war.
"As they say now: "If you have decided to play football, book everyone who is involved." Let's just thank the government and the Ministry of Family, Youth and Sports for allowing us to compete and play under martial law.
The government and the Ministry have allowed a limited number of spectators to attend these competitions. The government has developed certain rules for booking professionals and employees, which apply to all spheres of public life. There are no special conditions for any of the spheres. There are conditions set by the Cabinet of Ministers: if you meet 6 out of 10 criteria, you can get a booking. And you can also book a certain number of people, but no more than 50 per cent.
Naturally, some clubs meet these criteria and some do not. Given this, after the events that took place with Obolon, a meeting of the UPL was convened, in which I took part as a representative of the UAF and a representative of the Ministry. As a result of the meeting, proposals were made to the Ministry of Economy, which makes the final decision on booking, to develop additional criteria for professional athletes.
"A professional athlete who represents the country at international competitions and takes part in professional competitions cannot be simply replaced. They have been improving their professional skills for years.
The Ministry of Economy did not give a positive response to this request, or did not consider it, so to speak. It does not believe that it is necessary to do this, to separate athletes into a separate category and make any specific proposals for them.
At the time the law on mobilisation was being drafted, the UPL and PFL jointly submitted proposals for amendments so that people with a professional contract would have a deferral from mobilisation or something like that.
Our government and the Verkhovna Rada, which gave us the opportunity to play during the war, believe that it is not in the interests of the state to provide reservations from mobilisation in times of war. Therefore, these proposals were not supported. We, as the UAF, must ensure that the competitions are held within the constraints that exist. We are not a body that can influence these processes.
We are working on this where possible. We understand that we need to be registered. We can facilitate this process, but only within the law and with respect for the situation in the country, all authorities and laws of the state. We will definitely not change them or substitute concepts in any way," said Grishchenko.
