"The RFU does not want to exclude Torpedo from the RPL"

In the spring, Torpedo Moscow returned to the highest echelon of Russian football, the Russian Premier League (RPL). And already in June, the legendary club was rocked by a powerful scandal. A criminal case was opened against its owner Leonid Sobolev and CEO Valery Skorodumov under Article 184 of the Criminal Code, Part 2 — "Unlawful influence on the result of an official sports competition." Both managers are suspected of attempting to bribe one of the referees for making a decision in favor of the club during the spring part of last season in the first league. By a court decision, Sobolev and Skorodumov were imprisoned in a pre-trial detention center.

Torpedo may face withdrawal from the next RPL draw, which starts on July 19. Maxim Mitrofanov, General Secretary of the Russian Football Union (RFU), did not rule out this option. Meanwhile, no fewer questions remain about the financing of the club after the detention of Sobolev, who is the owner of the SBS-Yugra construction company and became the founder of Torpedo at the end of last year, together with two other people, Nikolai Storozhuk and Vladimir Kozhaev, the heads of Sibpromstroy, which is engaged in the reconstruction of the team's home stadium near the metro.Avtozavodskaya".

In an interview with Izvestia, the new CEO of Torpedo, Sergey Sinyaev, told how the club lives in the face of scandals around managers, what the financing situation is, and also commented on rumors about the possible expulsion of the team from the RPL, spoke about the construction of a new stadium, the fate of head coach Oleg Kononov and sports director Ari.

"Most of what is being written now is not true"

— How has the work of the club and the recruitment of the team changed after the detention of its owner and the previous CEO?

— Nothing has changed with us — Torpedo has stability in all areas. Everyone is doing their job, as any professional should, starting with the maintenance staff, lawyers and ending with the sports part.

— Why is this happening? After all, the main founder is in jail.

— There are other owners of the club (Nikolay Storozhuk and Vladimir Kozhaev. — Ed.), who already have extensive business experience. They can't allow any interruptions. I repeat, we work professionally. Because we have professional management. Before they take on a job and take responsibility for it, they carefully consider all the nuances.

— Rumors have appeared in a number of telegram channels that the RFU intends to impose harsh sanctions on Torpedo — removing the club from the RPL competitions or depriving the team of points. Have you discussed with the club's co-owners what to do in this case? Will you appeal to the appropriate authorities, including the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne (CAS)?

— We haven't discussed any of this. And most of what is being written now is not true. The RFU said they don't want to expel us. There are some legal, legal issues that can affect, but this, again, is not someone's desire. Especially from the RFU, which does so much for the development of football in the country. They probably never like to take such measures, especially in relation to a club like Torpedo.

— At the July 1 meeting of the RPL General Meeting, you crossed paths with Maxim Mitrofanov, General Secretary of the RFU. Did you discuss the situation with him and the possible desire to remove the Torpedo from the RPL in an emergency?

— I think if such serious people have not voiced this, it means that they do not have such a desire. Maxim Lvovich [Mitrofanov] is one of the main people in Russian football who is interested in its development. Not only at the RPL level, but in general. So, of course, they don't have the desire you're talking about.

"The head coach has completed the task for the season — the team has reached the RPL"

— Will Torpedo's budget for the season change after Sobolev's detention? Is he secured?

— The budget is secured and will not change. It has been completed — there is no reason to worry about it.

— Before joining the club, you worked as the manager of Torpedo sports facilities for two years. How would you assess the situation with the reconstruction of the stadium, which Sobolev announced for the spring of 2026?

— We are moving according to a certain plan, which is even being exceeded now, as far as the construction of the stadium is concerned. The facility is not in the public domain — many people come and can see from behind the fence how fast we are building it. The stadium is being built quickly, especially by the standards of today's difficult times — this is generally a separate story, the work here is non-stop.

— The news that the lawn at the new stadium will be artificial caused a resonance. Could this have been avoided?

— The artificial turf was included in the project when it was accepted much earlier by one of the previous owners. There should be no worries or worries about this. We are also changing the natural field to an artificial one at the Khimki Arena, where Torpedo played home matches last season and will start next season. This can also be done in the opposite direction — there are no problems here.

— So the artificial turf at the new Torpedo stadium is not necessarily permanent?

- of course. It is always possible to change something in our age of technology — many clubs clearly show this.

— Even before the detention of Sobolev and Skorodumov, there were rumors about a change of head coach. Do you have confidence in Oleg Kononov now?

— Again, I don't want to be like those who spread rumors and talk about it. As I said earlier, we must be professional in everything. The head coach of Torpedo completed the task for the season — the team reached the RPL.

— So Torpedo will start the season under Kononov's leadership?

— Oleg Georgievich Kononov is the current head coach of the Torpedo football club (Moscow). Nothing changes here.

— There were also rumors about the sports director of Torpedo, Ari, that he might leave.

— Ari is the sports director of Torpedo (Moscow). The answer is the same for him as for the head coach.

— What are the tasks for the season?

— To perform as well as possible, to take a place as high as possible in the table. We need to build a club that will consistently perform in the RPL, and fight for high places. In addition, the infrastructure needs to be improved. I hope that when the team starts playing in its own stadium, it will also help us in terms of sporting results and in terms of attracting additional partners who would like to cooperate with Torpedo.