Alexander Alaev / Photo: © Denis Bushkovsky / Match TV
President of the Russian Premier League (RPL) Alexander Alaev called the exchange of circles between Spartak and Sochi a logical decision for the match of the eighth round of the Russian championship.
Earlier, the RPL commission for assessing the quality of football fields recommended not to play at the Fisht home stadium in Sochi for a month. Sochi made a proposal to hold the match of the 8th round, scheduled for September 16, at the Otkritie Bank Arena stadium in Moscow, and the game of the 24th round in April 2024 at the Fisht stadium in Sochi.
– It upsets me that there is such a field in Sochi. There are objective and subjective reasons, but neither the league nor the stadium is beautiful. There are different situations, but we will organize the work in such a way that the fields in the RPL will not be in this state. Speaking specifically about this case, we considered different options, there is the most logical one – to exchange circles. This is better than driving two teams to a reserve stadium somewhere, creating difficulties for the fans.
I repeat, if there is such an opportunity and it fits into the calendar, and a pause will allow all the necessary work that is already being done to bring the field into the appropriate state, this is the most reasonable option. Let’s see what the clubs say. According to the regulations, this decision must be coordinated by them and the executive committee of the RFU. If you want my opinion: I think that in this case, the exchange of circles is a logical option, ”Match TV quotes Alaev.
Watch live broadcasts of RPL matches on Match TV and MATCH PREMIER channels, as well as matchtv.ru and sportbox.ru websites.
Source: Sportbox
Thomas Astudillo is a sports journalist and author who writes for Sportish. He has a deep love and knowledge of sports, and is known for his engaging and informative writing on the latest sports news and events.