Who did the referee help in the CSKA-Spartak derby: experts gave an unequivocal verdict

In the 21st round of the RPL, CSKA and Spartak played the most boring Moscow derby in recent years, playing to a goalless draw. However, the match was not without controversial refereeing decisions made by the team led by Vasily Kazartsev.

For example, in the 25th minute, CSKA forward Fedor Chalov made a handball in his own penalty area. But the VAR referees, after checking the episode, considered that the ball hit the player in the thigh.

Ex-judge Igor Fedotov has a different opinion. He claims that at this moment Kazartsev should have awarded a penalty.

“I don’t see the CSKA player’s hip at this point in the game. I see that the CSKA team player is obviously playing with his hand. VAR intervened and awarded the 11th kick. Kazartsev was blocked by a CSKA player, the score will not be reduced, but cannot be higher than 8.4. Correct decision: 11th kick for handball,” Fedotov summed up.

The same opinion was expressed by another ex-referee Ilya Oblomov: “Here I will not talk about discrepancies within the team in detail, but for most of the judges whose opinion I listen to, this is a punishable hand, since the movement of the hand towards the ball is the first and main criterion.

Everything else: instinctively, below, and so on – is already secondary. If it had hit the thigh first, there would have been no questions, but here there is no hit. Our opinion is a penalty.

And the decision would be clear to everyone. But Kazartsev didn’t see it – it was blocked, and Meshkov decided that the situation was borderline. He probably decided that movement was natural to the movement of the body. Colleagues note the complexity of the episode. We’ll leave explanations to the department.”

Another interesting episode happened towards the end of the match. In the 89th minute, CSKA defender Moises played rudely against a Spartak football player – he stepped on his calf muscle with spikes, for which he received a yellow card.

But Oblomov considered that in this episode Kazartsev had at least four criteria, based on which he could remove the CSKA football player from the field:

– there is no ball nearby
– spikes above the ankle
— pushing through
– the risk of injury is high.

“There is no flight phase. This is what softens. But, for me, there are enough criteria for showing a red card,” added Oblomov.

Igor Fedotov also agreed with his colleague: “Kazartsev is mistaken, as well as Meshkov, who is on VAR. At this point, a red card should have been issued for a serious violation of the rules.”