Sergey Khusainov: Kukulyak made an inexplicable decision not to award a penalty against Zenit

Fifa referee Sergei Khusainov – about the causes of Kukulyak’s mistake.

– Sergey, Kukulyak, by any chance, isn’t he your pupil?

– No, but we crossed paths in life. Kukulyak of Kaluga. At one time I worked at the CSKA academy, a young footballer Kukulyak studied there. Good boy, but out of his mind. Apparently, he wasn’t going to make a serious career as a player. He said he had an injury, it’s unlikely anything will work out. He studied with me for six months, after which we parted ways. There was no talk of arbitrage at all.

– To be honest, I asked this question to start a conversation, but it turned out that you and Kukulyak crossed paths in life. But let’s get down to the main topic – a penalty against Zenit not awarded by Kukulyak.

– Let’s look at the rules. There was a blow to the opponent’s leg. If such a violation occurs in the center of the field, a free kick is awarded in favor of the injured team. I think this episode would have been done without cards. There was no rudeness, a game episode.

If such a violation occurs in the penalty area, it is definitely a penalty kick. There can be no double interpretations here. Claudius accentuated on the leg Tiukavina. The episode is perfectly visible from the place that the referee took, this did not happen in the crowd of players.

Kukulyak does not define violations. The judges working at the VAR interrupt the game and offer Kukulyak to look at the episode in more detail. He watched for a long time, but didn’t see any infringement from Claudinho.

– Often in the crowd of players in the penalty area it is difficult to determine whether there has been a violation, even after looking. But here they were together, no one closed the view.

– This decision, as well as obvious mistakes in matches involving Spartak, give reason to believe that the referees received an unspoken instruction from higher organizations, their leaders, that in acute episodes associated with the appointment of a penalty, it is necessary pay attention to the color of the shirt of the player who broke the rules.

After all, it was obvious to everyone that Claudinho had broken the rules. But the referee Kukulyak made such a morally inexplicable decision.

This indicates that the referees are sacrificing honor and dignity. This hinders the development of football.

Kukulyak watched TV for a long time. Although in this episode everything was so perfectly visible. Claudinho heartily lifts Tyukavin’s calf muscle from behind.

– I think the Varovians called him to work out an interpretation. He explains that there has been no violation. And the explanation is ridiculous: insufficient contact. And what is enough – when a leg is broken?