Yesterday, one of the central matches of the round took place in the Ukrainian championship, where “Karpaty” minimally defeated “Oleksandriya” at home (2:1). This match proved to be very emotional, resulting in eight yellow and one red card for the guests and only one yellow for the hosts. A correspondent from Sport.ua decided to reach out to Ivan Kalyuzhny, who shared his version of the events during this match.
Photo: fckarpaty.org.ua
— Ivan, after the defeat to “Karpaty”, are the chances for “Oleksandriya” to win the championship already lost?
— I think so. “Dynamo” needs to gain one point in two games. I am confident that it won’t be a big challenge for the Kyivans.
— Were you very upset by the defeat in Lviv?
— Of course. I wanted to fight until the end, but some people with their decisions didn’t let us do that.
— The match against “Karpaty” was emotional. What is it related to?
— I believe it’s connected to “Dynamo”’s setback in Zhytomyr, as prior to that, we were refereed in a more or less equal way. But what happened in the game against “Karpaty” is beyond logical explanation. Even before we scored our goal, almost every episode was interpreted differently both ways.
— “Oleksandriya” received eight yellow and one red card in this game, while “Karpaty” only received one yellow card. Was everything on the field so clear-cut?
— There were many moments when the opposing players jumped from behind into our legs, disrupting our attacks, but the referee limited himself to only verbal warnings. On our side, the yellow light was constant. A simple example: Dzhevanis makes a minor foul in the center of the field and immediately receives a yellow card. Almost immediately, Miroshnychenko jumps into his legs, but the referee just gives a standard free kick.
— In the 90+1 minute, referee Oleksiy Derievynskyi issued you a second warning...
— Kvasnytsia knocked the ball away, immediately pulled his legs up, and fell. During this episode, I didn’t touch him and didn’t come in with my leg straight. However, the referee without hesitation sent me off the field. I was curious to see this episode on video. And I was just convinced that I was sent off unjustly. Even if I had touched him, his trajectory would have changed, but he just “beautifully” crumpled up.
Moreover, the referee ran throughout the game and said he would be giving me cards.
— It’s not the first time your head coach Ruslan Rotan has spoken out about the unfair refereeing against “Oleksandriya”. Do you agree with the coach?
— Ruslan Petrovych previously emphasized certain episodes, penalties, unjustified cards. There were times when referees made several decisive decisions and let things go, but in the game against “Karpaty”, this person was “on our backs” the entire match.
We are people too, we get fired up after such unfair actions. The referee does this intentionally, so it’s easier for him to punish whomever he wants later.
After all, we have a committee that evaluates the actions of the referees. I would be interested to know the final verdict regarding my episode. I’ve encountered that in other European championships after filing an appeal, cards were canceled. Maybe justice will prevail here as well.
Serhiy BOYCHENKO
