Pavel Kamantsev, Head of the Referee Committee of the Russian Football Union (RFU), told Sport about all the problems of his subordinates in the season and the innovations that domestic football expects.
— What do you see as the main problem of refereeing in our country last season?
— Still insufficient competition among judges at all levels of professional competitions should be recognized as a systemic problem. Nevertheless, it is competition that is the main factor influencing the development of judges. There is already an influx of judges from the UFL, but there is always a desire for more. season? If so, which ones?
Yes, there will be changes. Further work is planned to increase the level of allowed wrestling and eliminate the so-called «lightweight penalties». Let's do this at the training camp, which will begin in the near future.
— What are the statistics of errors, including key ones, in the completed RPL season? How much have the numbers changed compared to the 2021/22 season?
— The number of key errors in the 2022/23 season has decreased compared to the previous two seasons. In the completed championship, there were 152 of them, in the 2021/22 season — 166, and in the 2020/21 season — 157. VAR intervened 98 times in the game correctly in the last championship. The season before, there were 103 such cases, two — 94. As for the errors missed by VAR on the part of the referees in the field, in the 2020/21 and 2021/22 seasons there were 21 each. In the last championship, this number, unfortunately, increased to 23. At the same time, the number of key errors outside the VAR protocol decreased from 42 in the 2020/21 and 2021/22 seasons to 31. If we talk about errors that were not corrected by VAR, in the 2020/21 and 2021/22 seasons there were 63 each , and in the season 2022/23 — 54.
strong> — What mistakes were made most often by judges in the last two seasons? Is there any trend in this?
— Most often, judges make mistakes in «television» moments, that is, when it is almost impossible for a person to recognize what happened in the field. An example is the handball in the match CSKA — Akhmat (referee Karasev) and Krylya Sovetov — Spartak (referee Amelin). In these cases, VAR came to the aid of the referees, but in situations with a second yellow card, unfortunately, the mistake cannot be corrected. Zhenya Kukulyak misjudged the dynamic moment in the Spartak-Khimki match.
There are situations when referees make wrong decisions after VAR interference, and we have had too many such situations this season . In this we have an obvious reserve for improving the quality of work.
— How can one achieve uniformity of interpretations of similar episodes? but it is possible to substantially reduce the difference in differences. We will work on this at the training camp, I hope the result will be noticeable from the first rounds of the new season.
— Do you agree that the inconsistency of the referees was the main problem of our refereeing?
— This is the main problem of refereeing in principle. Both in Russia and other championships. We could see it even at the 2022 World Cup. Let's remember the last five or seven years of work of the RFU refereeing department — the lack of complete uniformity of decisions in similar situations is always discussed. Leaders and referees are changing, VAR is being introduced — and still the question of uniformity remains. problem of our refereeing?
— As I have already indicated above, I believe that there is insufficient competition among our judges. It is increasing, but so far it is insufficient. Competition is the only effective way to increase referees' demands on themselves.
— Will all the referees who worked in the RPL last season continue to referee in the Premier League in the new season? strong
— Certainly not, since there is an annual rotation. The two judges who are ranked below everyone else will continue their work in the FNL and will prove their right to a new chance in the RPL.
— You see judges from the First League who deserve the right to work in the RPL? Who are they?
Yes, these judges exist. With a VAR license, we have two worthy candidates for promotion — Evgeny Bulanov and Sergey Tsyganok.
— How and where will judges prepare for the new season?
— In Moscow at the beginning of July.— Will the practice of meetings between the refereeing leadership of the RFU with representatives and players of the clubs during the season continue? with the club on refereeing within the framework of licensing is enough, and at the end of the year we will hold a general meeting with summing up the results of the season. In principle, we are in constant contact with the clubs on various issues, including through appeals to the ESC.
Do you think this practice is harmful? After all, clubs that have not yet had such a meeting may feel deprived…
— I don’t know about such clubs, since we have never denied anyone a face-to-face meeting. Through licensing, the RFU has now simply systematized these lectures.
— Will the RFU publish the rating of judges after each round? It was previously announced, but never implemented.
— After analyzing the situation, we decided that the publication of the rating of judges twice a year is sufficient.
— Is it worth waiting for the publication of the negotiations of judges with VAR in a more operational mode, and not as it was last season — a few weeks after the game?
— Since there are restrictions imposed by FIFA and IFAB, we cannot do it quickly. The mere existence of such videos is a huge step forward in terms of openness, and so far not all countries in the world are doing this.
— Does the RFU understand about the return of offside lines? When will they appear in the RPL?— Our Chinese partner has completed FIFA certification, and in the near future we will begin the final stage of this project. We will bring in the equipment, install additional static cameras at the stadiums and get to work. You need to understand that the technology is used for the first time and technical nuances may arise at first. However, I am sure that together with our Chinese partners we will promptly resolve all emerging issues.
— How is the situation with the full-scale implementation of VAR in the First League?
— We are negotiating with the FNL and individual clubs. I think next season there will be VAR in certain matches of the First League.
— When can we expect this technology to appear in the Second League?
— Currently, the use of VAR is limited only by the technical capabilities of the stadium and the availability of funding for the match. The RFU has already held matches with VAR at the stadiums of the Second League and even in the arena in Krasnoyarsk. I do not rule out matches with VAR at the early stage of the Russian Cup or in the decisive matches of the Second League of Division A.
— How do you evaluate the work of the ESC RFU last season?
— The ESC includes the best professionals from the judiciary. I don't think I can appreciate their work professionally. And disputes around the decisions of the ESC or the refereeing department have always been and will always be. Do you see any trend in who and on what episodes? we are preparing these statistics and will analyze them, but given the fact that not all clubs apply to the ESC, it is impossible to draw fundamental conclusions from it.
— As of the 30th round, on average, there were 0.57 appeals per match, and 41 decisions of the judges out of 134, according to which there were appeals to the ESC, were recognized as erroneous. Is it a lot or a little?
— The statistics of appeals and decisions of the ESC as a whole does not give an idea of the level of refereeing, since a number of clubs do not apply to the ESC. There were a lot of uncorrected mistakes in the season, as there were mistakes that we objectively could not have made or could have corrected with the help of VAR. out of 30 clubs did not apply to the ESC. What do you think this means?
— In the group stage of the Russian Cup there were also tours without appeals to the ESC, and, probably, this indicates that there were tours when the referees worked well, and sometimes the clubs simply did not see any reason to complain for a variety of reasons . The absence of calls to the ESC does not indicate a round without errors, but says that in general the level of refereeing was normal.
— Judging by the statistics, did the clubs most often have questions about the work of Artem Lyubimov and Pavel Shadykhanov? Will they continue to work in the RPL?
Yes, of course. I think that the very fact that there are questions does not indicate the poor work of Artem and Pavel. This season, as FIFA referees, they began to serve more complex and important matches, the results of which are often addressed even by both clubs. Well, unfortunately, they also did not do without errors. I believe that the next season will be better for them in terms of quality. Roman Galimov (3/2). All mistakes were made last in one match. Will they continue to work in the RPL?
— As I said, two arbitrators with the worst rating are leaving the RPL list, and these are not Aleksey and Roman. I am especially sorry for Roman, because, having returned to the RPL this spring, he showed a decent level of refereeing, and one match greatly blurred the impression of his work. I am sure that he will draw conclusions and spend the next season more smoothly, as he is an experienced and high-quality referee.