| RADIMOV: I AM TO BLAME
Zenit's violation of the limit on foreigners
in the Sunday's match against Lokomotiv became the biggest event of the
Russian Premier League Week 5.
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Pavel Pogrebnyak (L) and Vladislav Radulov
(C) Photo SPORT EXPRESS
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Immediately after the match with Lokomotiv the head coach
of the St. Petersburg team Dick Advocaat announced that the four minute
long excess of the players with non-Russian citizenship was his mistake.
And yesterday the head of the Zenit's team Vladislav Radulov commented
the situation and shouldered the blame without even being asked by the
journalists.
- Is it true that you were the first out of the coaching staff to understand
the mistake?
- No, it was not me. Nevertheless I think that the blame rests with me.
Actually Dick Advocaat, Bert van Lingen and I are responsible for matters
of the kind. But out of us three I am the only Russian-speaking and that
is why I am sure I am guilty most of all.
- When you were taking up your post the management of the club said that
it would be creative rather than administrative. That is why I can assume
that there is no clause in your contract about control over the substitutions.
- It is said in the contract that I cannot interfere into the work of
Advocaat and van Lingen. But there is a kind of an unwritten rule that
it is the team's head who is to control the substitutions. By the way
today [on Monday] we spoke with the head coach and the players about it.
And Advocaat said it once more that we had goofed.
- And what about the players?
- They understood and forgave me. For me it is most important in a situation
of the kind that they treated me this way. Anything can happen in life
but it goes on. And we can only wait for the decision of the Control and
Disciplinary Committee.
The protest of Lokomotiv will be handled by the RFU Control and Disciplinary
Committee tomorrow.
The Moscow club registered in the record of the match their opponent's
violation of the limit on the foreigners when from 81 till 85 minute there
were simultaneously seven internationals of Zenit on the field.
At the same time the Board of Football Referees is to deliver the verdict
on the actions of the Fourth Official of the match Timur Arslanbekov who
failed to control the legitimacy of the second substitution of Zenit.
Sport
Express Daily, 21 April 2009
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