Ashot Khachaturyants meets with RPL club representatives to work with fans

On 16 February, the President of the Russian Premier Liga discussed the introduction of the Fan ID law with league members. 

The meeting lasted about an hour and a half, after which Ashot Khachaturyants answered journalists' questions.

"The meeting was very productive. It was important to convey our position to the club representatives, to tell them where we are now,” said the President of the RPL. “The law has been adopted, and we must comply with it. Before it comes into force, a regulatory framework must be approved that will describe how the law will really work to answer the questions of fans."

"As the president of the RPL, it is very important for me to get the opinion of club representatives who are responsible for relations with fans, to listen to all their questions," added Khachaturyants. "We talked about our work and participation in task forces that form the future architecture of the law. We talked about what needs to be changed so that spectators are comfortable to receive and use the so-called Fan ID. We hope that the Ministry of Finance will create a product that will facilitate this procedure as much as possible."

"I asked to convey a simple message to the fan movements through the club representatives - to wait until we all understand how this law will be applied in its final form. There are a lot of questions that fans are concerned about, such as the procedure for obtaining the document, the possibility of remote verification, and the procedure for visiting the stadium with children under 14 years old. I am very concerned about possible refusals to issue IDs, relevant reasons and courses of action after being refused," the RPL president stressed.

"I also asked the club representatives to convey to the fans the meaning of our entire conversation so that they would not boycott RPL matches after the resumption of the season. I don't know if the fans will respond or not, but I conveyed this wish. Whether to go or not is everyone's decision, but the boycott does not cause me any other feelings except regret, because football can lose a very important component. It seems to me that everyone loses from this: both fans and players, and the spectacle itself becomes less attractive," Khachaturyants summed up.