Referees Decision on Third Goal in Match Between Akhmat and Sochi Upheld by Expert Commission

The Expert and Judicial Commission under the President of the Russian Football Union (RFC) unanimously affirmed the decision made by the chief referee of the 13th round match of the Russian Premier League between «Akhat» and «Sochi» (2:4) **Kirill Levnikov** to allow the goal scored by the Grozny team in the 66th minute.

«The defender of ‘Akhat’, Maxim Sidorov, was contending for position with ‘Sochi’ forward Vladimir Ilyin and attempted to reach the ball with his foot. As a result, Ilyin, who was in front of Sidorov, was affected by the opponent’s hands and could not stop himself before reaching the goalkeeper. The keeper, while diving to play the ball with his hands, collided with both players. During this encounter, the defender made contact with the goalkeeper using his open foot and thigh, while the forward simply collided with him with his body. Given the circumstances of the play, this confrontation and the involvement of all the players does not warrant a penalty, and the goal was correctly counted,» — stated on the official website of the RFC.

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