Thus, Vitaliy Kvartsyany told the "Komanda" newspaper that the information alleging that the Lutsk players gifted the match to "Dnipro" at the end of the championship before last appeared due to an incorrect interpretation of Mr. Kvartsyany's words by the journalist who interviewed him. Given the hot-tempered nature of the "Volyn" coach and his previous, to put it mildly, ill-considered statements, one can assume that this time the journalist became a victim of the coach's outrageousness.
Let us recall that the head coach of Lutsk's "Volyn," Vitaliy Kvartsyany, a year and a half after the strange match with "Dnipro," in which his team, leading 4:1 during the game, lost 4:5, decided to make public the truth and tell everything about that encounter. In an interview with the "Sport-Express in Ukraine" newspaper, V. Kvartsyany confirmed the fact of a fixed match with "Dnipro," though he blamed his own players for it. In addition, Mr. Kvartsyany complained that his players sold themselves for pennies.
"The sloppiness of my players was obvious. They had no right to do that, even though they knew that the result did not affect our tournament standing in any way," noted Vitaliy Kvartsyany. "Perhaps they needed money for a banquet on the occasion of the end of the season. Now I take that situation calmly, but back then I locked the players in the locker room until three in the morning. I demanded that they confess – not to the PFL and the federation, but to me personally. But the players were as silent as if they had taken water into their mouths. Nine players who, in my opinion, were involved in the conspiracy had to leave the team. It's a pity that the guys resorted to baseness not for serious money, but practically for pennies. After all, as I later found out, they had already made the arrangement during the match."
Let us note that after the "Volyn" – "Dnipro" match, which took place in the 2002/2003 season, a real scandal erupted in the press. Incidentally, that victory gave "Dnipro" practically nothing in terms of tournament standing; the team still finished fourth, one point behind the bronze medalist of the championship – Donetsk's "Metalurh."
Such a serious accusation did not go unnoticed. The head coach of "Dnipro," Yevhen Kucherevsky, in an interview with "Gazeta" commented on the latest interview of the "coach" of "Volyn," Vitaliy Kvartsyany. At that time, Mr. Kucherevsky spoke rather sharply about Vitaliy Kvartsyany and called him a fool. "He is a real fool. I don't understand why my players would buy this match from the Lutsk players if the result of the duel had no tournament significance. I shamed my players at halftime and said that you can concede 6-8 goals, it's the end of the championship after all. And V. Kvartsyany blames not only us but also his own players. It's no wonder so many good footballers have left him," noted Yevhen Kucherevsky. According to the "Dnipro" coach, in the 15th minute of the second half the Lutsk players began to have a "cramp" and they weren't just standing but lying on the field.
"The entire former Soviet Union knows that I don't engage in such things," the head coach of "Dnipro" was indignant. "If I did, I would probably already have been Ukrainian champion several times. We profess fair play. This is immediately evident from the fact that referees do not sympathize with us either in home matches or away." Yevhen Kucherevsky recalled the time when he worked in Russia and officiated a game in Makhachkala at the end of the season. According to him, back then he was offered "such money for them to lose the match that Kvartsyany's hair would have grown for three days." However, Yevhen Mefodiyovych's charges won that encounter, since the current "Dnipro" coach values his name and reputation.
Yevhen Kucherevsky assured the "Gazeta" correspondent that he would talk to the club president, after which "Dnipro" would file a lawsuit against Vitaliy Kvartsyany for slander. So the situation became threatening for Mr. Kvartsyany, since the head coach of "Volyn" obviously has no proof of the truthfulness of his own words. Therefore, he decided not to aggravate the scandal and to find a "scapegoat" in this situation. The most convenient thing under such circumstances is to accuse the journalist who interviewed him of unprofessionalism.
"I am tired of suffering from the unprofessionalism of some journalists," the "Volyn" coach admitted to "Komanda." "How long can my words be distorted!? Many journalists, knowing my openness in communicating with the media, constantly call, ask questions, and I answer. But before printing an interview, few show me the variant of converting audio information into text. So it turns out that you say one thing and read something completely different! Therefore, I have firmly decided: from now on I will act more civilized in communicating with journalists." What exactly Vitaliy Kvartsyany meant when he spoke of "more civilized" actions, he did not specify.
Instead, the Lutsk coach agreed to tell what actually happened on June 18, 2003, when "Volyn" was winning against "Dnipro" with a score of 4:1 but ultimately lost 4:5.
"Then, as you remember, the duties of head coach of our team were performed by Stepan Pavlov, and I, as vice-president of the club, watched the game from the stands," Mr. Kvartsyany commented on the situation. "So it seemed to me that some of the 'Volyn' players were not true professionals. They played the match so ineptly that I had no hope left of continuing cooperation with these guys. I do not suspect or accuse either Yevhen Kucherevsky personally or other representatives of 'Dnipro' of anything! But I have the right to assess the level of dedication, will, skill, and professionalism of my own footballers! And if the majority of the Lutsk players, instead of moving north with the ball, headed in the opposite direction, can one count on the approval of such actions from the coaches and club management?"
Read also:
Kvartsyany confirmed the fact of a "fixed match" with "Dnipro"
"Dnipro" coach called Kvartsyany a fool and promised to sue him