[ad_1]
Manager Alexei Targonsky gave some details about the cancellation of the League of Nations match with Switzerland.
– The last training ground turned out to be one of the most unusual. Tell us as an eyewitness what happened in Switzerland.
– I participated in this meeting not only as a witness, but also as a direct organizer, so I clearly understand everything that happened there. It is easier to present the events in chronological order.
We arrived in Switzerland on November 15 and there were no problems at the airport. We were greeted, transported. We arrived at the hotel, settled, everything was fine. The problems started after receiving the test results. After that, the Swiss, that is, the medical committee of this region, began to behave somewhat strangely.
In the run-up to the game, a very important day, we had to report to the stadium at 5:00 p.m. and take the tests again before training. At the same time, we were not provided with a changing room. It was weird, because the team should feel comfortable before training if they needed to go to the bathroom, drink tea or get a massage. For our part, we offered to do the tests at the hotel at 4:00 p.m., so that everyone would have time and the training would not be interrupted.
The organizers seemed to give us concessions, they sent representatives of the laboratory to do tests in the hotel, but at 5:00 p.m. We did the tests, but since the training was scheduled for 18:00, things went wrong. We arrived at the stadium, there were closed changing rooms, the players were putting on their boots right in front of the field. There was no opportunity to use the bathroom, have tea. It was strange and unpleasant for such a discriminatory attitude. To some extent, the training was interrupted.
The second point, very important. We learned that the game was canceled for no apparent reason by an official letter and directly from the doctor, head of the Medical Services of the Canton of Lucerne. At the same time, the doctor referred to Swiss law and in no way took into account the UEFA Regulations. We were informed that we had to be quarantined for 10 days or, as a concession, we were allowed to take off the next day on a charter flight.
As a result, we managed to take off, but the flight was postponed from 12 to 14 local time. In general, we were not treated very well at the Zurich airport. It is clear that we were in a state of quarantine, but they treated us like lepers, everything happened at a distance, it was very unpleasant. That said, we all had negative tests. Our innocence was also confirmed by the fact that in Boryspil, upon returning from Switzerland, we passed the tests in a UEFA-accredited laboratory, and they all came back negative.
– Directly on the day of the match you had a meeting with the doctor from the canton of Lucerne, he said, what was the atmosphere in the meeting room?
– All of our management and this doctor were in the meeting room. He immediately made it clear that he is considering this game from a purely medical point of view, so the news could be negative for us. The doctor noted that it is governed exclusively by the regulations of the canton of Lucerne, according to which, if there is an infection in the equipment, the game cannot be played. Although according to the UEFA Return to Play Protocol, if we have 13 players with negative tests in our team, we can play the game in peace. In addition, despite the fact that the tests were positive even in two players who had recently been sick with Covid, and therefore raised certain doubts, we invited the Lucerne doctor to test us again. We offered to pass the tests on the 17th, wait for their results and on the 18th to play the game with those players who were in Switzerland as part of the Ukraine team. But the doctor did not agree with this proposal and added that he did not care that Switzerland beat us on the football field, since he is a fan of football and his team.
– Speaking directly about the Ukraine team, were you ready and ready to play?
– Of course! Head coach Andriy Shevchenko prepared for the match until the end. On match day, there was even a pre-game meeting, which started at 10.30 and was held online. At the same time, I saw that the Swiss team took the game just as seriously. Therefore, I believe that the decision of the Lucerne authorities was incorrect.
I also want to add that the hosts provided us with a very poor quality field to train on match day. We draw your attention to this, the correspondence was made by the secretary general of our association. The Swiss promised to prepare the field of play, but in the end he was in such an unsatisfactory state that there was a risk of injury.
