The RPL went on winter break and this is a good time not only to relax, but also to think about the mistakes that have been revealed lately. The Championship is studying the regulations and offering solutions to the league. First of all, it is necessary to change the issues related to time. Let’s start with them.
Once upon a time they played in the parks in winter. Let’s get nostalgic:
Matches in arenas instead of games in the snow: great nostalgia! Do you remember the coolest ones?
Introduce a clause on the color of the ball into the regulations
Now the regulations have the following clause: “7.15. “All matches are played exclusively with officially approved RPL footballs.”
The balls are approved by the clubs at the RPL general assembly and, before the start of this season, all management voted for the Nike balls that were previously played. The clubs still had balls of a certain model, so taking into account the timing (the discussion took place in the spring), they decided to buy exactly the same ones, so that if delivery was not made on time, there would be something to play for some time.
After Spartak played Baltika in snowy Kaliningrad with a white ball, it was discussed why it could not be changed to any other bright color. This could not be done simply because no one approved yellow, orange or red balls before the start of the season, and there is nothing in the regulations that provides for that option in adverse weather conditions. But the league held an operational meeting with the clubs, which voted in favor of changes to the technical regulations on the possibility of using, by decision of the referee, a winter ball of a contrasting color that differs from the official game ball of the season 2023/2024. season. It was the brilliant Adidas ball that clubs use in the Russian Cup.
Shiny ball in the snow.
Photo: CSKA
The problem was resolved quickly, for which RPL can only be praised. But you can make sure that these kinds of situations don’t arise at all, right?
What we offer: Modify the regulations for the next season so that in the “winter season”, by decision of the referee, matches can be played with a contrasting ball (which, respectively, must be purchased and approved in advance). Something similar happened in the 2020/2021 season: it was then decided that in all matches, starting on matchday 13, “winter” balls would be used, that is, yellow ones. The league returned to using standard white balls in the spring of the next year.
The league informed the Championship that the issue of balls for next season will be decided in December to take into account all the clubs’ wishes and delivery dates.
Introduce a clause on the color of the marks in the regulations.
Now there is this clause about markings: “Ensure that markings are applied to the football field at least 3.5 (three and a half) hours before the start of the match, unless weather conditions prevent this.”
At the same time, nothing is said about the color of the markings during snow matches, and white on white looks clearly bad. Do you remember the match between CSKA and Rostov? There the center line did not seem to exist at all. There is an example for the RPL: the German football association has issued guidelines for the care of the fields of the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2, where the following clause is found: “When the field is covered with snow, the lines must be painted in bright blue or orange.”
What we offer: add a clause to the regulations stating that in case of heavy snowfall, brightly colored markings will be applied. Not by decision of the referee, but necessarily: it will be more comfortable for the spectators in the stadium and in front of the television to follow the game.
Field with orange markings.
Photo: Dmitry Golubovich, “Championship”
Add a rainfall clause to the regulations
Now the referee is guided by the “Rules of the Game”, according to which he decides to delay or postpone the match due to weather conditions. There are no details here: it could be a lot of snow, heavy rain or fog. Everything that can affect the course of the game and its quality.
What we offer: specify in the regulations what should happen to the match if a certain level of precipitation falls (delay, suspension, postponement).
In England they wrote that because of the snowfall no one would play there:
“Spirit demonstration!” Europe and South America delight in snow football in Russia
Review the point about temperature.
The clause on temperature restrictions appeared in the regulations only in 2018; Before that, the RPL was guided by the UEFA recommendation, according to which, at temperatures below 15 degrees Celsius, the referee and the match delegate must obtain the consent of both teams to play in such conditions. The temperature limit did not come out of nowhere: UEFA studied the experience of the Scandinavian countries and also talked to doctors about the risks to the health of footballers, after which it set a critical level of minus 15 degrees.
In the RPL, a temperature clause was added to the regulations before the 2018/2019 season, because a season earlier Lokomotiv played in Khabarovsk at -17, and Spartak refused to play in the Russian Cup in Samara at same temperature. Now the paragraph looks like this: “6.4. The delegate and the referee must do everything possible to ensure that the match takes place in accordance with the championship schedule. Upon arrival at the stadium, the delegate and the referee must ensure that the temperature in the stadium corresponds to the recommended values for the match: from minus 15 (fifteen) to plus 35 (thirty-five) degrees Celsius.
Here is the doctor’s opinion on this matter.
Nikita Karlitsky
sports doctor
“It’s quite difficult to play in this weather. If you look at VAR, the player will cool down during the waiting period. This greatly increases the likelihood of injury. Even if the athlete is warming up at the moment. Personally, I think it was possible to introduce an upper limit of -15 degrees, but for now that’s all. They will watch. We try to find a middle ground. One must also take into account the effect on the respiratory system in this climate, which is under severe stress. At this temperature, there is a risk of lung spasms, which makes breathing difficult and reduces the players’ effectiveness. Of course, against the background of hypothermia, there may be a decrease in immunity. It’s stressful. But this is a controversial topic, because short-term stress is even beneficial for the body. But you can get a cold burn in your respiratory tract.”
What we offer: Conduct a study (talk to doctors, footballers, coaches) on how playing in the cold affects the game and reconsider temperature limits. It is possible to change these frames to -10 or -5 degrees.
Revision of the clause on the moment of postponement of matches
Another point is to study the weather forecast in advance: it rarely happens that the indicated temperature does not ultimately coincide with reality. From here we come to the conclusion that if the forecast for conditional Saturday is -17 degrees, why wait and believe in a miracle? An hour (or even three) before the match, of course, no one wants to postpone anything, because the teams came to the stadium and spent time and money. For clubs that play away from home, this is even more expensive. And paying the hosts to rearrange the game and return tickets to fans is a huge hassle.
Soccer fans in winter
Photo: FC Dynamo
Now the regulations establish that the referee and match delegate must do everything possible for the match to take place. The regulation reads as follows: “The delegate and the referee, if necessary, have the right to require the host club to ensure that measurements of the ambient air temperature in the stadium are carried out three hours, two hours and one hour before the start of the match. the match. <...> The final decision on the possibility of holding a match, subject to the consent of both teams, is made by the referee. If any of the teams refuses to play a match when the ambient temperature is below minus 15 (fifteen) degrees Celsius or above 35 (thirty-five) degrees Celsius, the match is postponed to another date (day, time, place ). “
What we propose to do: You can consider an option where it is possible to reschedule the match in advance; You just have to decide how long it would be more rational to do it: one day, two, three or even a week. It is also possible to add a clause regarding the possible postponement of all matches on the tour.
Another option is to reconsider the way you create the schedule so as not to play in December. But we will talk about this later.
Yesterday in Voronezh the conditions were not very good either:
“It was a fictitious penalty, but the VAR could not intervene.” The judge stole Dynamo’s victory in Voronezh
