“Dynamo volleyball players have no place to play the second home semi-final of the Czech Republic in Moscow on a new date” – Zinichev

Women’s volleyball clubDynamo “There is no place to play the second home semi-final of the Russian Championship in Moscow on the new dates set by the competition management, so the second match of the series will have to be played away, the club’s general manager told Match.TV Vladimir Zinichev .

Dynamo defeated Uralochka-NTMK of the Sverdlovsk region with a score of 2-0 in the quarterfinal playoff series up to two victories. The first game of the series was scheduled to take place on March 24, but was postponed to March 27 due to the tragedy at Crocus Town Hall. In the semi-final series up to three victories, Dynamo, as the winner of the regular season, has home advantage and, according to the regulations, must play the first two matches at home, then two matches at the exterior.

— After the quarter-finals were postponed, did Dynamo really have problems organizing the semi-finals at home?

— The current playoffs remind me of the situation with the Covid 2020 playoffs. Then the semi-final pairs had already arrived for the second matches, but by the decision of the competition organizers, the matches were canceled, the results of the playoffs playoffs were canceled and medals were distributed based on regular season results. The decision is unprecedented. It now turns out that tragic events have changed the playoff games. The cancellation and postponement of the first quarterfinal games cast doubt on the entire playoff schedule. I note that the schedule of these games was approved by the Presidium of the VFW in June 2023. The competition management did not care about the problems of the clubs and simply moved the matches forward by three days, and whatever it happens, without changing the general playoff dates.

As an option: it was possible to organize a quarter-final series not of three matches, but of two matches with a golden set. There would have been disagreements between the clubs, but in this case force majeure intervened in the calendar. As a result, the entire schedule of the remaining playoff matches was lost, and Dynamo was forced to play at home in the semifinals not the first two matches, but only one – on April 5. We will have to play the second and third matches of the series away, which gives our opponent a certain advantage. They tell us: then play the second match at home on April 6, without interruption. But we have nowhere to play in Moscow on this date. Aerobics competitions are already planned at the Dynamo volleyball arena, basketball at the Lavochkin Street arena and martial arts at the Odintsovo arena. We can forget about the Druzhba Arena for the next three years, there is no time for volleyball there, the arena has other plans.

At the same time, we brought our problem to the attention of the competition department. Why are the men of Dynamo Moscow and Zenit (St. Petersburg) playing quarter-final matches one day apart on April 3-5 in different cities, but the same matches between Proton and Lokomotiv did not didn’t happen in a single day? If Proton and Lokomotiv played on the same day, it would allow us not to disrupt the schedule of the semi-final matches. We were ready to play two semi-finals at home on April 4 and 5.

But we believe in our team, in our players. They are talented athletes, many of whom have a glorious career behind them, a lot of work, a lot of surpassing themselves and injuries. Alongside them on our team are young volleyball players who stand out from their peers through their talent and hard work. Our only foreign player, Natalia Pereira, is an integral part of Dynamo. We believe in her, in her athletic team spirit. When she is on the court, other players feel more confident. We trusted Natalya, even if the question of the continuation of her career has not yet been decided. Most likely, for a number of reasons, she will not continue her career at Dynamo next season.

The Dynamo spirit is inherent in our team, which is why we often meet our opponents and competition organizers halfway on some difficult topics, even if this puts us in less favorable conditions. I hope interesting and fair playoff matches await us.

— How did you perceive the disqualification of Proton head coach Yuri Marichev for the second quarter-final match with Lokomotiv?

“This decision is consistent with the letter of the law, but not its spirit. All the managers of the clubs participating in the playoffs think like me, with the exception of Dynamo Kazan and Lokomotiv. I don’t know their opinion. I saw this match during Marichev’s expulsion, and I absolutely do not justify his behavior. He is an emotional person and very difficult for the referees. But this episode of the game, which he had asked to watch on video replay during the match, remained unnoticed by the judges. Who was right in this episode – Marichev or the judges – the probability is 50 out of 50. As a result, Marichev was accused of unsportsmanlike conduct and disqualified from the next match. That is, Saratov fans were punished in favor of the opponent.

We have repeatedly had questions about arbitration in Kaliningrad. We have asked the VFW to review specific cases and remove individual judges. I would like to emphasize that I do not believe that the referee of the match between Lokomotiv and Proton did anything intentionally. Although in such a situation, the judges could reconsider the episode of the game that led to Marichev’s expulsion. This moment was largely decisive in this confrontation, since in the next match “Proton” played without a head coach, Zinichev told .

In the semifinals, Dynamo will play with the winner of the duo Lokomotiv (Kaliningrad region) – Proton (Saratov).

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