Referee Fedotov Comments on Controversial Penalty Decision for Zenit Against CSKA

The former referee of the Russian Premier League, **[Igor Fedotov](https://www.championat.com/football/_russiapl/tournament/6594/match/1251604/#text-all)**, commented on the decision made by referee Artem Chistyakov to award a penalty against CSKA during the match against Zenit in the third round of the RPL. The teams are playing at Gazprom Arena in St. Petersburg, with the score currently tied at 1-1. **Championat** is providing live text commentary on the game.

«There was contact. It’s pointless to discuss how serious it was since the referee opted to award the penalty. The player acted carelessly and caught Mantuan’s leg from behind. This was Chistyakov’s decision; he was in a good position, so VAR couldn’t intervene. This is one of those moments where the referee sees everything and interprets the incident in his own way. I have no complaints against Chistyakov,» Fedotov stated in a conversation with **Championat** correspondent Mikhail Rozhdestvensky.

In the 76th minute, Zenit’s substitute forward Alexander Sobolev converted the penalty. Earlier, in the 33rd minute, Brazilian forward Alerrandro had given his team the lead.