VFW Disciplinary Commission May Reexamine World Champion Goncharova’s Case

The disciplinary commission of the All-Russian Volleyball Federation (VFV) is ready to invite the captain of Dynamo Moscow Natalia Goncharova for a new hearing in the case of his disqualification, Vladimir Zinichev, general director of the capital club, told .

In May, Goncharova was suspended for one Russian championship match and suspended for six months for unsportsmanlike behavior. The captain of Dynamo made an indecent gesture towards the volleyball player of Lokomotiv Kaliningrad Ebrard Karakurt in response to the provocations of the Turkish diagonal after the playoff match of the semi-final of the Super League. Later, Zinichev sent an open letter to members of the VFW disciplinary commission asking them to hold a second meeting and listen to the position of Goncharova, who was neither informed nor invited to the commission’s first meeting .

— Is there a response from the VFW to your call?

— Last week we received notification from the chairman of the VFW disciplinary commission, Alexander Yaremenko, that they had begun preparations for a second meeting of the commission on an issue related to Natalia Goncharova. The notification was sent to my name and that of Goncharova. This time, the commission plans to hold a meeting in person at the invitation of Natalia and a representative of Dynamo. The first meeting took place without our participation and without hearing the position of Goncharova and the Dynamo club. We replied that Natalia was not only ready, but wanted to participate in the meeting and defend her honor and dignity. And we thanked the VFW for responding to our open appeal, posted on the website.

— When will the next meeting take place?

— No date has yet been set. This week, Goncharova is traveling to South Korea to participate in the farewell match of famous Korean volleyball player Kim Young Kun.

— Lokomotiv volleyball player, world champion Mina Popovic, in a video interview with the Serbian publication SportalRS, commenting on Karakurt’s behavior on the court, said that she was “completely crazy” and deliberately chose an opposing player , which she provokes through the net throughout the match. According to Popovich, Karakurt behaved indecently and thus infuriated Goncharova. What can you say about this?

“We saw this interview and noticed it in other countries. We have published on our website both a fragment of this interview with Russian subtitles and a transcription in text form. I hope the members of the VFW Disciplinary Commission will watch this interview with Popovich. It’s one thing when Natalia Goncharova expresses her opinion about how she was provoked, or when a world-famous volleyball player, Olympic champion Natalia Pereira, who plays for Dynamo, expresses her point of view.

But in this case, Popovich, who played the whole season with her in the same team, denounced the behavior of the Turkish volleyball player. Popovich is also a world-class player – Olympic bronze medalist and world champion. And it is not true, in my opinion, that sanctions were applied to some of the participants in the conflict, while some of the instigators of this shame, as is now becoming obvious to everyone, remain “untouchable”.

In my opinion, if you undertake to consider complex issues, first determine who is the aggressor and who has exceeded the limits of permissible self-defense, and punish accordingly.

Natalya Goncharova is an example for many in volleyball, she is a famous player, Natasha stood out throughout her career for her professional approach to business and respectful attitude towards any opponent. You cannot offend your main honored and dedicated players of Russian volleyball, who have defended the honor of our country for years with injustice and insensitivity. But the final decision will be made by the members of the disciplinary commission. I hope that this time they will objectively judge what is fair, what is not, who deserves what punishment,” Zinichev told .

Goncharova is a world champion, a two-time European champion, a six-time Russian champion and a six-time winner of the Russian Cup.

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