MOSCOW, 15 Mar. Portuguese specialist Vitor Pereira is leaving the post of head of the refereeing department of the Russian Football Union (RFU), according to the organization's website. The specialist's contract with the RFU has been terminated by mutual agreement of the parties. The decision does not affect Pereira's participation in the expert referee commission under the President of the RFU. Pavel Kamantsev, deputy head of the refereeing reform department, has been appointed acting head of the refereeing department. His deputy will be Nikolai Ivanov, whose duties will include, among other things, conducting debriefings of arbitrators. «We are grateful to Vitor for the work done and professional attitude to the case. At the same time, our agreements imply the possibility of resuming cooperation in the future. I want to emphasize that the decision will not have a negative impact on the activities of the refereeing department, including the operational one. The work continues in full,» said the chairman of the refereeing committee of the RFU, Ashot Khachaturyants. The contract with Pereira was signed for two years with the possibility of extension. Prior to moving to Russia, the specialist worked in the refereeing committees of UEFA, professional leagues in Portugal, European professional leagues, the Portuguese Football Federation, the Brazilian Football Confederation, the football federations of Greece and the Czech Republic.
