Slobodyan considers refereeing in "brewers" matches unfair

President of "Obolon" Oleksandr Slobodyan shared his thoughts on the start of the season and also commented on the refereeing in the UPL.

– Oleksandr Vyacheslavovych, how do you evaluate the team's performance at the beginning of the new season?

Our unsuccessful start in the championship undoubtedly forces us to first of all analyze our own mistakes and look at ourselves. It seemed that the team had all the necessary conditions for quality preparation for the season.

We invited a group of quality new players to problematic positions - a total of seven to eight players. We also involved young players from our U-19 team in the work with the main team, who had already made their debut last season in the Ukrainian Premier League.

Currently, we have almost ten players under the age of 20 who have gained experience in performances and debuted at the level of the Ukrainian Premier League. During the offseason, we worked fruitfully on the formation of the U-19 and U-21 teams. New coaches have joined the club to strengthen the work with both the main and youth teams.

We have expanded the club's youth academy by recruiting new students, significantly modernized the "Zhyvchyk Arena." Another indoor arena is currently being built for the young footballers of our academy branch in Chemerivtsi, Khmelnytskyi region. There is also a modern stadium and our amateur team "Obolon" - one of the best in the Khmelnytskyi region.

After consulting with the club and the team, we also concluded that it is necessary to radically update the football field, heating system, and install an automatic irrigation system for the "Obolon Arena" field. That is why we turned to the Ukrainian Premier League with a request to schedule the first seven rounds for us away, so that during this time the new field could be prepared.

– If we move directly to the championship matches, what is your assessment of the first rounds?

In the first round, we played in Kamianets-Podilskyi against "Epicenter." It was a historic match for the city - for the first time in history, a match at the level of the Ukrainian Premier League took place there.

After a balanced first half, the hosts gained a significant advantage in the second half due to the decisions of the referee Oleh Kohut. In my opinion, two penalties awarded against us were at least very controversial. At the end of the match, the team somewhat lowered their hands, and the hosts scored the third goal.

At the same time, we must acknowledge our problems. Before the game in Kamianets-Podilskyi, the coaching staff faced certain difficulties: due to viral illnesses and unexpected injuries, we lost some players. Some new players did not have the necessary game tone, as they did not have time to go through full training.

During the match, we had to substitute our important player Serhii Sukhanov, who already had a yellow card. At the same time, it seemed that the referee was too closely monitoring his actions, looking for a reason for a second yellow card and as a result - expulsion. In the end, we lost 0:3.

The second round - a match with "Bukovyna" in Lviv - 0:0. In my opinion, this game showed our problems on the flanks and in the midfield.

In the third round against "Kudrivka" in Rivne, we played 0:0. We had several very good, practically scoring moments, but could not convert them.

Then there was a fairly even game with "Karpaty" in the Ukrainian Cup, in which we lost 0:2. There was an episode with a potential goal by Ustymenko, but Vantukh cleared the ball from the goal line. If that moment had resulted in a goal, the result could have been completely different - including in our favor.

In the fourth round in Kovalivka, we played 0:0 again. The opponent ("Kolos"), in my opinion, openly feared us, but unfortunately, we could not properly use either our strengths or the opponent's weaknesses. We did not take advantage of our chance - and again 0:0.

The fifth round - a match with Kharkiv, a 0:5 defeat. And here I want to specifically focus on the refereeing of Oleksii Derevinskyi.

In my opinion, the referee practically determined the course of the match from the beginning by awarding a controversial penalty and sending off our midfielder Roman Volokhatyi.

Throughout the match, there were many decisions that raised serious questions for me and our team. In particular, I believe that a clean goal was not counted in the goal of the Kharkiv team.

Let me give you another illustrative moment. The captain of the Kharkiv team, Ivan Kaliuzhnyi, allowed himself to express emotions and use foul language towards the referee during the match. At the same time, there was no corresponding reaction from the referee.

Therefore, a quite logical question arises: why in some matches the criteria for evaluating the same episodes differ for different teams?

And this question I want to address not only to a specific referee, but primarily to the leadership of the referee corps and the leaders of Ukrainian football management.

You see these matches. You have the opportunity to analyze each episode. You know the level of work of the referees. So why not bring order to the refereeing? Why do referees continue to work in the system, accumulating so many questions from clubs and teams?

The sixth round - a match in Cherkasy. A 1:3 defeat. And again - the start of the match and a very controversial penalty awarded against us.

This time the coaching staff had to promptly substitute Oleksandr Zhovtenko to avoid risking his expulsion after a second yellow card. And here too, questions arise about the interpretation of the rules.

In some episodes, it seems that one team is allowed more than the other. For example, when Hennadii Pasich pushes our player away with his hands in a fight, but the violation is not recorded. After that, we concede the third goal.

So, even a team that became the silver medalist last season needs additional support from the referees? What about fair sporting principles? Shouldn't they be the foundation of Ukrainian football?

I do not want to absolve our team of responsibility. We understand our own mistakes very well. We know what we need to add to the game, improve our performance, strengthen certain positions, and become stronger.

But when during six rounds we regularly encounter ambiguous, and sometimes blatantly incomprehensible decisions by the referees, I cannot remain silent about it.

I am Oleksandr Slobodyan, president of the football club "Obolon Kyiv" on a public basis. And I consider it my duty to speak about what is happening with our team.

– In your opinion, what should be the main principles of referees' work and overall approaches to refereeing in Ukrainian football?

We do not demand any privileges for "Obolon." We do not ask referees to help us win. We demand only one thing - equal rules for everyone.

If there is a violation - it must be recorded regardless of the color of the uniform, the club's status, or the player's surname.

If it's a penalty - it's a penalty. If it's a yellow card - it's a yellow card. If it's an expulsion - it's an expulsion. But these decisions must be consistent and the same for both teams.

After six rounds of the UPL, "Obolon" has only three points and occupies 14th place in the standings. The next match for Kyiv will be against "Chornomorets" on September 18.