Czy sędzia powinien podyktować rzut karny dla Karkonoszy?
Below we present an open letter from the deputy head of BKS Bobrzanie Jacek Szymczak, addressed to Andrzej Kowal, president of OZPN Jelenia Góra.
Open letter
The circumstances surrounding our team’s match against Karkonosze Jelenia Góra prompted me to write this letter. For years, matches between BKS and Karkonosze have been considered high-risk fixtures. This is why the Karkonosze authorities decided not to admit our supporters to matches in Jelenia Góra. The BKS authorities acted similarly. This changed before the last match, which was a matter of “to be or not to be” for both clubs. Following persistent efforts by the Jelenia Góra club to allow visiting supporters to attend the match, we changed our original decision and revoked the ban on their attendance. We made this risky decision, exposing ourselves to additional costs (increased security), subject to certain conditions. These conditions included, among other things, a nominal list of supporters and an admission fee. The club authorities in Jelenia Góra accepted these conditions. These decisions were presented in a letter for the information of the Bolesławiec District Police Headquarters and the President of OZPN Jelenia Góra.
And what happened? Nothing. After obtaining our consent, the Karkonosze authorities “forgot” about the agreement and failed to implement any of its provisions. What does this demonstrate? I will not answer that question. I leave the conclusions to those who read this letter.
But the above is not the most important issue. More important—and, as it turned out, decisive—was the attitude of the match referee. Our opinion, shared by outside observers, was unequivocal. The penalty that decided the result was awarded out of thin air. The visiting player fell in the penalty area several moments after our defender had cleared the ball.
The match observer confirmed this opinion in the presence of several people, adding that a clear foul had occurred in the visitors’ penalty area several minutes earlier, when our player was pushed with both hands and fell face-first. The number of penalties awarded to Karkonosze that decided matches gives cause for reflection (KP Brzeg Dolny—2 penalties, Piast Zawidów—2 penalties, Orla Wąsosz, etc.). It is thought-provoking that they decided the results and were awarded even in added time. There is probably no team in the fourth division that has “benefited” from so many awarded penalties.
I am not writing this to complain. I realize that the result of the match will not be changed. Nevertheless, I hope that the association’s authorities will at least reflect on the “incidents” that occurred and draw conclusions for the future. Therefore, I would like to repeat several questions (I do not expect an answer) that should prompt reflection and the drawing of appropriate conclusions for the future.
- Should information about referee appointments for such important matches be kept confidential (one could find out online at least two weeks in advance who would referee the match in Bolesławiec)?
- Should the observer be someone associated with the Jelenia Góra football community, rather than, for example, someone from Legnica?
- Should the observer spend 30–40 minutes “alone” with the referees about an hour before the match? (As far as I know, the observer should speak with the referees after the match.)
- Is it worthwhile to create insinuations by making appointments as described above?
These are only questions concerning one, albeit extremely important, match. I want to be clearly understood: I am not suggesting that the observer influenced the referee’s conduct; I am only referring to the facts that occurred. If the officials had responded positively to the above concerns, many unpleasant situations for everyone could have been avoided. We should all want to avoid comments such as this one from an observer: (quote) While improvement is visible at the central level, the “barbers” are still operating in the lower leagues.
To conclude, I would like to draw one more conclusion. The incident described above has caused outrage among many officials, influencing their decision to resign from involvement in football structures. Is this what we want? And the players? One “whistle” destroys their commitment and calls the principle of fair play into question.
P.S. Mr President. Referring to our telephone conversation, who was right? The fact that things turned out as I predicted does not satisfy me at all. Best regards, and I wish you effective action to avoid unpleasant situations in the future—situations which, I assume, also outrage you.
With sporting regards
on behalf of the Board of BKS Bobrzanie Bolesławiec
Vice-president of BKS Bobrzanie
Jacek Szymczak
(information: BKS Bobrzanie/ii)