Famous football manager Vyacheslav Zakhovailo talked with a correspondent from Footboom about Andrey Shevchenko's defeat in the UEFA executive committee elections.
Vyacheslav Zakhovailo— What is the main reason for Shevchenko's "miss" at the UEFA executive committee?
— The reason is the trust from UEFA. Andrey Shevchenko apparently does not enjoy such trust. Hence the result.
— Why do you think that trust has declined so much?
— Where football is concerned, especially in the sphere of influence of FIFA and UEFA, there has recently been a lot of external politics. This is the confluence of circumstances in the last ten years. And this politics influences many internal processes within these organizations.
— Shevchenko himself said that UEFA does not want to see him due to political aspects. How weighty can this argument be, given that the position of president of UAF is largely political, considering the current situation in which Ukraine finds itself?
— No matter how much we say that sports are outside politics, that has never been the case. Such situations occur in the IOC and everywhere. There are moments that affect the financing of all these organizations, FIFA, UEFA, especially when choosing the hosts of world and European championships, various sponsorship situations, and so on.
At present, significant figures in UEFA are financed and strongly lobbied by people who are not partners for Ukraine.
— 15 votes out of 55—is this a clear failure for Shevchenko and Ukraine?
— Definitely. But the thing is that every candidate for a position in the executive committee must have support. This is like an election campaign. Apparently, Shevchenko did not pay enough attention to communicating with people who were supposed to cast their votes. Perhaps he underestimated this situation, or perhaps the lobbying for other candidates was more significant, as this process has long become public, and everyone understands each other. It is no secret that corruption elements thrive in these organizations—just remember the likes of Blatter and Platini, who have been under suspicion for decades and have been involved in various legal processes.
World and European football is mired in corruption. You can say many things, but facts are needed. And facts are when you are caught red-handed. Andrey Shevchenko did not receive the necessary support and trust. The fact that he is Ukrainian was one of the factors, especially now, as some organizations funded by the opposing side do everything to oust our candidates since the positions of these sides are incompatible. The actions of these two organizations—FIFA and UEFA, especially the former—are very concerning in light of the decisions they are preparing.
Therefore, I see a direct connection with the fact that Andrey Shevchenko failed in these elections. Though this is speculation, I tend to believe that Shevchenko underestimated the entire situation and conducted his election campaign passively, resulting negatively.
— Can it be argued that he relied too much on his authority and past achievements?
— As a footballer, Andrey Shevchenko had a wonderful career, and as a football coach, he started very well. However, as an official and political figure, he has had failures everywhere. The reasons? He misjudges the environment and behaves very passively in promoting his image—whether non-football or even post-football. Both in politics and in sports politics, his actions do not yet confirm his authority.
— When he was elected president of UAF, did you have any concerns that all of the above might play a bad joke on him?
— This was a decision made in haste, and I cannot assert whether it was correct or not. Time will tell. For now, he is a novice official, and his image in this direction is currently equal to zero.
— Already under Shevchenko, Ukraine recalled Pavlenko's vote from the UEFA executive committee. Has this decision not become a ticking time bomb for Ukraine and for Andrey Nikolayevich himself?
— The entire situation with Pavlenko and the criminal prosecutions should be commented on by competent authorities. Personally, I do not know where the truth is and where it is not; let law enforcement resolve that, and the main thing is the courts. I do not have the right to assert anything, and the press can be trusted or not. But at the moment, we see that Pavlenko is losing these processes on all fronts.
— Nevertheless, the ECHR satisfied Pavlenko's complaint and obligated him to pay compensation for unlawful detention.
— The judiciary must be independent and impartial—that is known to everyone. And the fact that we constantly have erroneous decisions being made—you don’t need to be a fortune-teller to see that. Recall how many different journalistic investigations have been conducted regarding people sitting in courts concerning those same corruption facts. Naturally, the current judiciary does not inspire maximum trust. As a result, any decision can be called into question.
— It is known that Andrey Shevchenko is a resident of Britain. How much can this affect the quality of his work? And what is better—to be inside the structure or to have competent and reliable assistants?
— He is legally a resident of England and has dual citizenship with America since his wife is American—he himself states this and does not hide it. Regarding a permanent place of work in Ukraine under such conditions—this is decided by the UAF regulations themselves. If this is all legally confirmed, then Shevchenko is absolutely legally engaged in his activities. The most important thing here is tax payment; if there is a law on double taxation, then there should be no questions.
The main thing in managing a structure is the set goal and the result. How this is achieved—outside the office or inside the office—is a technology issue. Currently, such a position has a political hue, considering that the country is at war. This moment somewhat does not meet the expectations of Ukrainians; accordingly, it is an image component of functionary Andrey Shevchenko. Being a good football player or coach is one situation, while being a functionary is completely different. So far, in this regard, Shevchenko is falling short. But everything is in his hands. If he wants to go down this path, he needs to draw conclusions on how to fix it.
— But it is one thing to manage a firm, and another thing to manage an entire national association, especially in the current geopolitical conditions...
— Considering that I am Ukrainian and know this entire system from the inside, managing our organizations from a distance is impossible. You need to be on the ground and independently control the process. Relying on your executors is fraught with significant consequences.
The fact that Shevchenko is not sufficiently present on-site plays against him image-wise, legally—no. In general, our association is currently managed by one gentleman; I won’t name him, but I think everyone understands who I’m talking about. If you look at all the recent appointments that are happening, soon drivers, cleaners, and so on will be relocating from Lviv to there. All this, of course, tarnishes the authority of the entire organization. Let Ukrainians draw their conclusions. I will only note that public organizations should be managed by society, not by specific individuals.
