- How do you feel?
- I’m optimistic. As everyone else I’m on quarantine.
- Do you miss football?
- It feels like I’ve lost my right arm. Of course this is a tragedy and we must all decide how to deal with the virus and to continue playing football.
- Do you believe the league will be played to the end this season?
- If there’s a chance, the league must be played to the end. But of course if it’s not possible, that won’t happen. As far as I know UEFA offers different options, but we read that only in media. No one from the Ukrainian Association of Football talks to us. It looks like everyone lives his own life. We could have arranged online conference.
It’s good that Dynamo and Shakhtar don’t need their help, but there are other clubs that have faces serious difficulties. They need to know what to do. For example, Spanish federation gathered representatives of the clubs and they all decided the federation will announce the continuation of the season two weeks in advance so that everyone could get ready. I guess you realize that if the league continues tomorrow we won’t be able to perform as players lack fitness. We can’t risk their health.
Such issues need to be discussed and the UAF must initiate some kind of conference.
- So, you don’t know what to expect at the moment?
- We don’t have any information. UAF keeps in touch with UEFA and FIFA who give some recommendations. We hear only pieces of information in media while UAF president says they’re in touch with all clubs. Well, no one has talked to me. I’m in touch with Olexiy Mykhailychenko at least four times a week, I’m in touch with players, doctors and training complex staff. I’d like to thank them a lot for doing their job.
We do sanitizing at the training complex so that players, who come there singly or by two, could work out at the gym. They do this at their own risk, but the training complex is open for them.
- What do players do at this stage? Where are foreign performers?
- All our foreign players are in Kyiv and follow quarantine restrictions. Doctor Andriy Shmorhun calls them every morning at 9 a.m. and asks how they feel. They tell what their body temperature is etc. Everyone takes the situation very seriously and I don’t have claims to anyone. We know where players are and where they go. Singly or by two they come to the training complex to work.
When the restrictions are over and we’ll have an opportunity to have training sessions in small groups this still must be approved by the organization called UAF. But it seems it doesn’t exist.
- Have you discussed players’ contracts with them? Maybe someone wants to make concessions under current circumstances?
- We haven’t discussed that. I can’t make my players earn less because of this situation if they don’t agree themselves. Anyway I can’t even offer anything as I don’t know how to act under such circumstances. This is the first time we’ve faced a problem of the kind.
- Have you talked to presidents of other clubs?
- I’m friends with Zoria president Heller. We discussed a lot of football issues a week ago. I talked to Serhiy Palkin a day before Shakhtar away game against Wolfsburg. Still the situation wasn’t as tough at that moment as it is now.
The President of Ukraine addresses to the nation almost every two days and explains what’s going on. Don’t we deserve any explanations from the UAF? We need to know how to live on. When can we start gathering the team? When can we start training in groups?
- Are you ready to continue the league, but behind closed doors?
- I am. For example, Desna can still lay claims on the third place and direct ticket to the Europa League. Oleksandria are only six points behind Zoria. There are still 27 points at stake.
