Oleksandr Povoroznyuk: "It seems that everyone wants Ingulets to withdraw from the competition. Well, I will withdraw"

The president of Ingulets from Petrovo, Oleksandr Povoroznyuk, has commented on the situation with the possible removal of his team from the current Ukrainian championship. We shall remind you that this scandal started due to the prohibition of the governing soccer bodies to hold home matches at the stadium "Ingulets-Arena" due to the lack of documents on its commissioning.

- It's very simple. We have everything you need for soccer ready: super changing rooms, a heated pitch, two reserve pitches, press boxes, halls for press conferences, places for TV, Wi-Fi. Absolutely everything.

The only thing is that we have the first point of all the UAF Stadium and Competition Safety Committee requirements - it (the stadium) is not commissioned. But that's not up to me. It has been commissioned for three years through bureaucracy, and they are constantly reworking something. After all, when the stadium "Ingulets-Arena" just started to be built, then there were no requirements for bomb shelters, because it was before the full-scale war. So, since then, we are constantly reworking, reworking and reworking again. We have documents on the stadium, and we will put it into operation anyway.

I repeat: we have absolutely everything ready for soccer now. But now Andrey Taran, who is responsible for stadiums in the above-mentioned Committee, says to me: "We will not give you a permit, because you do not have the commissioning act. If you want to play, go to the office above and negotiate". But I will not go anywhere and I will not give bribes to anyone. If "Ingults" will not be allowed to play with "Chernomorets" (match of the 6th round of the UPL, September 14 - ed.) at our stadium, I will remove the team from the championship . This is a principled decision, and I will not walk away from it. When I go on principle, I do not consider anyone and nothing.

- As far as we know, every UPL club declares an additional stadium for the season. Inhultz have this stadium - Gornyak in Kryvyi Rih....

- Yes, we have an additional one. But why should we play at an additional one, if Inhultz have their own? Why should I be begging, when 4 million euros were siphoned off during the war? In order to build a stadium for people, for leisure. And now I have to play in a spare stadium? And fuck them all. Once again I say: I will not. And this is a matter of principle.

- Who should interrupt these bureaucratic delays? On whom does it depend?

- There is a whole list of such organizations - in particular, the State Emergency Service, the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine, the UAF and others.

- Have you defined for yourself a conditional "X time" when you will finally give up and make a cardinal decision?

- We have provided an official letter in which we informed that on September 14 we are ready to host Chornomorets in a home match. If the Odessa team will not come, because the UAF or UPL will decide something in their own way, then... Although the UPL has already sent us a letter, which does not give permission to use our stadium. Therefore, I am now calling the television crews, who will shoot everything that will testify: "Ingulets" really fulfilled all the conditions that are necessary for soccer. After that I will go to a press conference and tell that I am not allowed to play. Although during the war they allowed to play even at the old stadium of "Ingulets", and at "Minai" too.

It seems that for the officials the war is already over. But for me personally it is not over. I have helped and will continue to help everything I can to defeat the enemy. And if someone decides to hinder, I will take the team out of the championship and take up children's soccer - open a school, a boarding school. I will not give up soccer in general, because I am a great fan of it. So, as for the issue of using the neighbors' stadium if I have my own, I repeat: I will not be begging.

It seems that everyone wants "Ingulets" to withdraw from the competition. Well, I will withdraw.

Andriy Pisarenko