Referees' mistakes become a system
Thursday, November 9, 2023
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Shakhtar U19 head coach Oleksii Bielik talked about the championship level, refereeing issues and progress of players in the UEFA Youth League
– In the last round of the Ukrainian Youth League, Shakhtar U19 met with Dynamo U19. Considering the fact that it was a difficult game with a negative result, what is the moral and physical state of your team now?
– Indeed, a difficult game against strong opponents – our direct competitors. I can't say that my team performed perfectly, but I also can't say that we failed this match. If we take the game as a whole, it was an even match with few chances, both near our goal and near the opponents’ goal. But I believe that the best player of the match of the Kyiv side was their goalkeeper who blocked two or three dangerous shots after our set pieces. Also, I didn't focus on refereeing right after the game because there was an important UEFA Youth League match against Barcelona U19 ahead and I didn't want it to become an alibi for our players. Always in any situation, no matter what happens, I pay attention to the actions of my team first of all, but there are moments you just cannot be silent about. And I think it is necessary to talk about what happened in terms of refereeing in the match against Dynamo U19. I will give several examples. When our central defender fouls for the first time in a game in the midfield, he immediately received a yellow card – no questions, I agree with the referee's decision. But at the same time, Dynamo central defender fouls on our players three times within five to six minutes hitting them on the legs, and the referee awards free kicks, but does not warn the Kyiv side player, does not even make a verbal remark, so what is this? You understand what it means for a central defender to get a yellow card at the beginning of the match. This is the first point. Second, it is clear that I started to react to it, to draw the referee's attention and the referee gave me a yellow card first. But how did he do it? Not like they do in the UEFA Youth League where the referee goes to the touch line and cautiones you looking you in the eye, this referee showed the card when he was 50 meters away from me. Maybe it means that he is ashamed to look the coach in the eyes because there is some unfairness towards me and my team? And, of course, the "cherry on top" for the Kyiv-based team was an unawarded penalty against them. I don't know how, but it is simply impossible not to notice it – everyone has seen it. I understand that referees are people who can make mistakes too, but I am saying this because it's not just a simple mistake, it's a system. Two rounds before us, they gave a second yellow card and sent off the best player of Dnipro-1 U19 Kivinda in the match against Kyiv, thus leaving them with ten men and depriving them of a chance to fight for victory in the 15th minute. Now here is the match between us and Dynamo U19, which I was talking about. I wish that the relevant bodies controlling the actions of the referees, the same refereeing committee, would pay attention to this situation and finally start to respond to these systematic mistakes properly. And in general, if you take Dynamo, they played 10 of their 13 matches at home, they invite all their opponents to play in Koncha-Zaspa. That is why I believe that there is already a system we are dealing with. Personally, I will never ask anyone to influence the result of a match in any unfair way. I always say that I want the referees just not hindering me and us having a good field – it is enough for me to lead the team to victory.
– It is your debut season as Shakhtar U19 head coach. How would you rate the level of the league and teams?
– Of course, we always want the level to increase. I can't say that the league is weak, there are good teams, there are slightly weaker teams, but overall the league is equal. When we play against opponents from the middle or bottom of the tournament table, I always tell my players: "Guys, footballers from these teams want to be in your place, they have extra motivation and will do everything to beat you. That's why you have to prove in every game why you play in a club like Shakhtar. Just trying hard at Shakhtar is not enough, you are here thanks to your qualities, football intelligence, skills, and you have to show it in every match. If you are just trying, you should understand that another player will be in your place.”
– The game against Dnipro-1 U19 is ahead. What bothers you as a coach before this match in the context of recent matches?
– Well, again, I'm not confident in refereeing. This is the first point. Secondly, we have disqualified players: there will be no Udod, there will be no Oharkov, who received cards. Yes, I told the boys not to pay attention to the actions of the referees, to any provocations by Dynamo players, but I can't even blame Udod because when you are called a "separatist" throughout the match, I probably wouldn't kept my temper either. But these are the manners of some footballers of our opponents. Another concern is that there will be changes in our defence again: in all 13 matches we played, we always had different combinations of defenders due to injuries and suspensions. But we are Shakhtar and we will always play offensively. We have to show our game and bright football that will attract fans.
– The competition at the top of the table is very high. Does it means that the teams are approximately equal in strength?
– I will answer simply: it is clear that we are stronger, but you don't need to be a great expert in football to see that if we had not lost points against Dynamo (and we should have had at least a draw if we were given a spot kick), then taking into account the game in hand, we would have been three to five points ahead of all our main competitors – Dynamo, Dnipro-1 and Rukh. You understand that in such a situation I would not allow my players to relax and with such a lead the fate of the league is decided by 80 percent, but what can you do – we will start all over again. We still have a postponed match and are potentially the leaders of the championship, so we will fight. The only thing that worries me is, again, the refereeing, as well as the fields. Because when the opponents want to invite us to such a field, where there will be a fight and only a fight, not football, then I don't understand it. There are coaches who make advances and are ready to play on a high-quality field: for example, Zorya U19 or Kolos U19 coaches, with whom we simply exchanged rounds. And all this is a plus for the teams for the development of their and our players.
– In your coach's opinion, what do such matches of the UEFA Youth League against Barcelona, Porto, Antwerp provide for the development of young footballers?
– I can say that I envy our players in a good way because in our time there were no such tournaments. Here you can not only play your UEFA Youth League match, but also go to a match of the senior team, feel this atmosphere, get used to it. Let's just say, being so close to the Champions League gives even more motivation. It is clear that this is a certain experience that players should use already in the domestic league. Well, as for the direct matches against Barcelona U19, if you look at them and analyse them, the total 0-5 loss is very surprising as we created more chances than the Spaniards. And we lost only because we made more mistakes near their goal.
– Indeed, a difficult game against strong opponents – our direct competitors. I can't say that my team performed perfectly, but I also can't say that we failed this match. If we take the game as a whole, it was an even match with few chances, both near our goal and near the opponents’ goal. But I believe that the best player of the match of the Kyiv side was their goalkeeper who blocked two or three dangerous shots after our set pieces. Also, I didn't focus on refereeing right after the game because there was an important UEFA Youth League match against Barcelona U19 ahead and I didn't want it to become an alibi for our players. Always in any situation, no matter what happens, I pay attention to the actions of my team first of all, but there are moments you just cannot be silent about. And I think it is necessary to talk about what happened in terms of refereeing in the match against Dynamo U19. I will give several examples. When our central defender fouls for the first time in a game in the midfield, he immediately received a yellow card – no questions, I agree with the referee's decision. But at the same time, Dynamo central defender fouls on our players three times within five to six minutes hitting them on the legs, and the referee awards free kicks, but does not warn the Kyiv side player, does not even make a verbal remark, so what is this? You understand what it means for a central defender to get a yellow card at the beginning of the match. This is the first point. Second, it is clear that I started to react to it, to draw the referee's attention and the referee gave me a yellow card first. But how did he do it? Not like they do in the UEFA Youth League where the referee goes to the touch line and cautiones you looking you in the eye, this referee showed the card when he was 50 meters away from me. Maybe it means that he is ashamed to look the coach in the eyes because there is some unfairness towards me and my team? And, of course, the "cherry on top" for the Kyiv-based team was an unawarded penalty against them. I don't know how, but it is simply impossible not to notice it – everyone has seen it. I understand that referees are people who can make mistakes too, but I am saying this because it's not just a simple mistake, it's a system. Two rounds before us, they gave a second yellow card and sent off the best player of Dnipro-1 U19 Kivinda in the match against Kyiv, thus leaving them with ten men and depriving them of a chance to fight for victory in the 15th minute. Now here is the match between us and Dynamo U19, which I was talking about. I wish that the relevant bodies controlling the actions of the referees, the same refereeing committee, would pay attention to this situation and finally start to respond to these systematic mistakes properly. And in general, if you take Dynamo, they played 10 of their 13 matches at home, they invite all their opponents to play in Koncha-Zaspa. That is why I believe that there is already a system we are dealing with. Personally, I will never ask anyone to influence the result of a match in any unfair way. I always say that I want the referees just not hindering me and us having a good field – it is enough for me to lead the team to victory.
– It is your debut season as Shakhtar U19 head coach. How would you rate the level of the league and teams?
– Of course, we always want the level to increase. I can't say that the league is weak, there are good teams, there are slightly weaker teams, but overall the league is equal. When we play against opponents from the middle or bottom of the tournament table, I always tell my players: "Guys, footballers from these teams want to be in your place, they have extra motivation and will do everything to beat you. That's why you have to prove in every game why you play in a club like Shakhtar. Just trying hard at Shakhtar is not enough, you are here thanks to your qualities, football intelligence, skills, and you have to show it in every match. If you are just trying, you should understand that another player will be in your place.”
– The game against Dnipro-1 U19 is ahead. What bothers you as a coach before this match in the context of recent matches?
– Well, again, I'm not confident in refereeing. This is the first point. Secondly, we have disqualified players: there will be no Udod, there will be no Oharkov, who received cards. Yes, I told the boys not to pay attention to the actions of the referees, to any provocations by Dynamo players, but I can't even blame Udod because when you are called a "separatist" throughout the match, I probably wouldn't kept my temper either. But these are the manners of some footballers of our opponents. Another concern is that there will be changes in our defence again: in all 13 matches we played, we always had different combinations of defenders due to injuries and suspensions. But we are Shakhtar and we will always play offensively. We have to show our game and bright football that will attract fans.
– The competition at the top of the table is very high. Does it means that the teams are approximately equal in strength?
– I will answer simply: it is clear that we are stronger, but you don't need to be a great expert in football to see that if we had not lost points against Dynamo (and we should have had at least a draw if we were given a spot kick), then taking into account the game in hand, we would have been three to five points ahead of all our main competitors – Dynamo, Dnipro-1 and Rukh. You understand that in such a situation I would not allow my players to relax and with such a lead the fate of the league is decided by 80 percent, but what can you do – we will start all over again. We still have a postponed match and are potentially the leaders of the championship, so we will fight. The only thing that worries me is, again, the refereeing, as well as the fields. Because when the opponents want to invite us to such a field, where there will be a fight and only a fight, not football, then I don't understand it. There are coaches who make advances and are ready to play on a high-quality field: for example, Zorya U19 or Kolos U19 coaches, with whom we simply exchanged rounds. And all this is a plus for the teams for the development of their and our players.
– In your coach's opinion, what do such matches of the UEFA Youth League against Barcelona, Porto, Antwerp provide for the development of young footballers?
– I can say that I envy our players in a good way because in our time there were no such tournaments. Here you can not only play your UEFA Youth League match, but also go to a match of the senior team, feel this atmosphere, get used to it. Let's just say, being so close to the Champions League gives even more motivation. It is clear that this is a certain experience that players should use already in the domestic league. Well, as for the direct matches against Barcelona U19, if you look at them and analyse them, the total 0-5 loss is very surprising as we created more chances than the Spaniards. And we lost only because we made more mistakes near their goal.