Ashot Khachaturyants: "I plan to work and go through this whole difficult period with the clubs"

On 22 March, a general meeting of the league clubs was held at the RPL office.

Following its results, the president of the Russian Premier Liga Ashot Khachaturyants answered questions from journalists.

General meeting and discussion of problematic issues

This is the fourth meeting of the RPL clubs in the last month. We discuss a wide range of operational issues that concern clubs, and these issues are not always put to the vote. There are topics that we discussed, but did not put to the vote, such as the salary cap, and the additional transfer window, both issues that contradict the legislation of the Russian Federation and FIFA regulations. We have once again recorded that we cannot resolve them.

Possible expansion of the RPL to 18 clubs

Of course, any change in the current regulations and the exclusion of play-off matches from it is a violation of sporting principles. But, unfortunately, we – both the RPL and the whole of Russian football – found ourselves in a force majeure situation.

Most teams played a certain line-up during the break, but now there are clubs from which two, five or eight foreign players have left – this is also a violation of the sporting principle.

The RPL clubs want the teams that finish in the last two places not to be relegated to the FNL, regardless of the sporting results.

Today (23 March), this issue will be considered at a meeting of the RFU executive committee, and, as it seems to me, it will not be resolved immediately, because there are many factors that need to be considered. First of all, this is a violation of sporting principles, the second is the financial readiness of the RPL and FNL clubs that are fighting for entry into the RPL, then there is the condition of the stadiums. There will be a serious analysis, based on the results of which the RFU will make a decision.

As the president of the RPL, I represent the teams of the league. If the majority vote for expansion, I cannot but support it, although I say again: this is a violation of sporting principles. Under any other circumstances, this would be unacceptable. We don't know yet how many clubs will be able to finish the championship, how many are ready to play next year. There are a lot of questions here, so it is impossible to answer unequivocally.

Clubs that may not finish the 2021/22 season

Now we are talking about the survival and preservation of football in the conditions in which we have found ourselves. It is inappropriate to discuss the issue while these clubs are playing. I have repeatedly discussed this issue with some shareholders on the phone and convinced them that there is no need to not finish the season.

Preparation for the implementation of the Fan Card law in the RPL

We are waiting for the Government's order (where the terms of entry into force of the law and the list of sports events to which it applies will be spelled out –  Premierliga.ru). Both the financial component and the technical component matter, so I don't want to get ahead of myself. We will wait for the order to be issued, and based on this, the fate of the implementation will be clear.

Work has now been completed on the inspection of all stadiums for their compliance with the order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs No. 1092. Shortcomings that need to be eliminated have been identified. This requires a lot of money, we want to evaluate it and apply for targeted funding due to the difficult financial situation in the clubs in order to bring a number of stadiums into compliance with the regulations. The situation is absolutely clear for each RPL stadium, but it is necessary to clarify the situation with the FNL clubs that are fighting for entry into the RPL.

Competition for title partnership

By the end of the week, we plan to announce a competition for title sponsorship. We are focusing on the largest candidates; today the official offer, many times higher than the previous one, was from Sovcombank. While this letter has not been withdrawn, we are focusing on it. This will be an open competition, it will take place on the site of the Russian Auction House. The one that gives the highest price will be the winner. Tinkoff had a pre-emptive right, but the bank did not use it by 1 March. 

Exclusion from the Association of European Football Leagues

We hope that we will be restored. We understand that this decision was made under pressure. Any membership in an international organization is significant for the status to be a part of European and world football life. Let's hope that when everything is over, we will be restored quickly. No one closes the doors in front of us.

Return of Russian teams to international competitions

The dialogue with UEFA and FIFA is underway. The President of the RFU, Aleksandr Valeryevich Dyukov, has a long business relationship with the leaders of UEFA and FIFA, which they have demonstrated. I think the personality factor is a plus for us in order to restore full participation in world football.

Motivation to work as RPL president and getting a vote at the general meeting of clubs

I can't quit clubs in the current situation. From the very beginning of my work in the RPL, there was a question of giving me a voice on an equal footing with the clubs, and it was today that the clubs took the initiative so that I could vote with them on an equal footing.

The clubs rely on me, I plan to work and go through this difficult period with them. I can say that about 80 percent of the league development concept that I was preparing has now become irrelevant. This is due to the number of foreign players, our integration into European football, so that serious investments from the West would come to us, which would be a very significant event for our football. Now we must try to live in other realities.