"The stage of return may be playing on neutral fields, but we want to play matches at home."

At the end of March, the British media reported that UEFA had begun work on the return of Russian teams to official tournaments. Later, Alexander Dyukov, president of the Russian Football Union (RFU), fueled the discussion by saying that there is no smoke without fire.

In an interview with Izvestia and Sport-Express, RFU Secretary General Maxim Mitrofanov explained how soon Russia's return could take place.

"I am sure that we will complete the dialogue with UEFA successfully"

— There are many media reports about the beginning of the work of UEFA and FIFA on the return of Russian football to the international arena. How do you react to this? Does this somehow manifest itself in dialogue with colleagues?

— This is the result of a dialogue. We are working on this, we have always talked about it. You just didn't believe it, you thought it wasn't true. We don't believe ourselves, but when the Western press starts publishing, we believe more. Some of the information got through, but I wouldn't jump to conclusions. The dialogue has been going on since 2022, it is complex, different, and it continues. I am sure that we will successfully complete it. I hope that this will happen as soon as possible.

— Do you allow the possibility of holding matches of Russian teams on neutral fields? They write about Serbia and Turkey.

— Our task is to play football on our fields, at home. There may be a game on neutral fields as a stage - this has been discussed since 2022. This is theoretically possible. But we set the maximum goal - to play in Russia, and preferably right away. What kind of neutral countries can there be? If the question is relevant, then we will comment.

— Denis Solovyov, a member of the executive committee and vice-president of the RFU, admitted that the match between Russia and the USA in football would take place earlier than the KHL–NHL. What does it mean?

— Denis Borisovich probably assumed that football is a more popular sport. We love hockey, I would not like to contrast it with football. We are interested in international matches being held in all sports. Is there any interest in holding such a football meeting? It is more important for the RFU to return to official sports competitions, this is the number one task. If you play with the USA at the 2026 and 2030 World Cups, that's fine, you can do that.

— There have been talks about the possibility of obtaining a wild card for the Russian national team for the 2026 World Cup. Was there any discussion of this issue with FIFA representatives?

— There was a question — is it theoretically possible? And in theory, anything is possible. Let's wait for the situation to develop. I am a member of the UEFA committee for national team competitions, and there have been many discussions about various options. For now, these are just discussions.

"In principle, you can play without VAR"

— How do you assess Alexey Miller and Alexander Medvedev's criticism of the work of the VAR after the match with Spartak?

— It was a difficult episode. It's difficult to dig around and find out what needs to be done to make the episode more understandable for everyone. The world judicial community has a task to fully automate the offside system. This is a complex technical solution that can be used in many competitions in the future. And you can basically play without VAR. The rules of the game of football allow matches to be played without this system. In any case, the question is difficult, based on the available television picture, especially when you are rooting for a certain result and your team. It would be strange if there were no discrepancies. Colleagues from the judicial department published the material, showed how the VAR system worked in that episode. The technology of offside lines itself was not invented by the RFU. The technology is certified by FIFA, and it can be used in other competitions. Did the judges apply it correctly? This is the complexity of the issue. Colleagues say that if additional cameras were available, it would be easier to make a decision on this point. But in sports, it all turns into a subjunctive mood, because judicial decisions are made today and then not canceled. Therefore, the task of the RFU, the league and the clubs is to create conditions for technology to be implemented as much as possible. Or give up everything and do everything at the discretion of the judge, but it's more difficult.

— There is a lot of talk about the possible return of Ashot Khachaturian to Russian refereeing. Is it real?

— First of all, you need to ask Ashot Rafailovich himself. In any case, he is our great friend and colleague who has been in charge of Russian refereeing for a long time. He is currently involved in projects related to the development of youth football in our country. Ashot Rafailovich is a big fan of football and our national team. It would be wrong to say that he disappeared from Russian football. He's part of a big football family.

— Will you be glad to see Khachaturian back?

— If we talk about his possible return to Russian refereeing, then this question is more about him. It is clear that the RFU was pleased with the work that Khachaturyants did as the head of the judging committee. And it continues. Pavel Yuryevich Kamantsev works within the framework of the same strategy for the development of our refereeing.