Foul on me is a clear straight red card
Saturday, November 25, 2023
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Shakhtar defender Valerii Bondar shared his impressions of the match against Polissia and talked about the episode in which he was injured
– The match between Shakhtar and Polissia was central in this round. What can you say about the game and how fair was the result?
– I think that we fully deserved to win: we controlled the game, tried to score our goals. I had two opportunities that I did not convert – it is a skill that I should work on, and it is my fault in some way, because I could have opened the scoring and changed the course of this match, and then we would have finished with a more positive result. So, it is bad, of course, and we have to practise these aspects during training sessions. However, I think we had enough chances to take three points in this match.
– At the beginning of the game, there was a rather controversial episode with a violation of the rules involving you. How can you comment on this moment?
– I want to say a lot, probably, but we had many moments in this season when our players received red cards for the same violations. And I am sure that there was a clear red card in that episode, and the game could have been completely different. I also think that no matter in what minute such foul happened, in the 10th or 50th, it deserves a send-off. I can give examples with Yaroslav Rakitskyi, Artem Bondarenko, Giorgi Gocholeishvili, when they received red cards in the first half. We have VAR, we have qualified referees who manage it, but there is a lot of talk about the referees, and we have many controversial moments with this particular team that allow them to gain points. Maybe it means something. So, these moments should not be overlooked, there should be a committee that will review such episodes and assess the referees properly – those who work with VAR and those who officiate the match. If you watch that moment, it is a clear straight red card, in my opinion. Our players received such cards, and I do not know why they do not give them to Polissia. Probably, something is happening in our football and outside of football, let’s put it this way.
– What can you say about your injury, how serious is it?
– Actually, it was very difficult to finish this match, because I received a rather unpleasant injury, which prevents me from preparing for the Champions League match at full strength. Now I need to deal with this moment, recover and somehow prepare for the game against Antwerp. I hope that everything will be fine. But, of course, it makes me very sad because we have a very important game ahead and we have to think about it, and now all my thoughts are about how to heal my leg and prepare for the game.
– I think that we fully deserved to win: we controlled the game, tried to score our goals. I had two opportunities that I did not convert – it is a skill that I should work on, and it is my fault in some way, because I could have opened the scoring and changed the course of this match, and then we would have finished with a more positive result. So, it is bad, of course, and we have to practise these aspects during training sessions. However, I think we had enough chances to take three points in this match.
– At the beginning of the game, there was a rather controversial episode with a violation of the rules involving you. How can you comment on this moment?
– I want to say a lot, probably, but we had many moments in this season when our players received red cards for the same violations. And I am sure that there was a clear red card in that episode, and the game could have been completely different. I also think that no matter in what minute such foul happened, in the 10th or 50th, it deserves a send-off. I can give examples with Yaroslav Rakitskyi, Artem Bondarenko, Giorgi Gocholeishvili, when they received red cards in the first half. We have VAR, we have qualified referees who manage it, but there is a lot of talk about the referees, and we have many controversial moments with this particular team that allow them to gain points. Maybe it means something. So, these moments should not be overlooked, there should be a committee that will review such episodes and assess the referees properly – those who work with VAR and those who officiate the match. If you watch that moment, it is a clear straight red card, in my opinion. Our players received such cards, and I do not know why they do not give them to Polissia. Probably, something is happening in our football and outside of football, let’s put it this way.
– What can you say about your injury, how serious is it?
– Actually, it was very difficult to finish this match, because I received a rather unpleasant injury, which prevents me from preparing for the Champions League match at full strength. Now I need to deal with this moment, recover and somehow prepare for the game against Antwerp. I hope that everything will be fine. But, of course, it makes me very sad because we have a very important game ahead and we have to think about it, and now all my thoughts are about how to heal my leg and prepare for the game.