A statement from Pavel Kamantsev, head of the refereeing office of the Russian Football Union, touched on the sanctioning of Yevgeny Kukulyak, who refereed the Zenit versus Dynamo Russian Cup match. Kamantsev criticized the decision-making process in the incident when Konstantin Tyukavin was challenged inside the box and a penalty could have been assessed. He noted that the VAR intervention correctly prompted Kukulyak to review the situation, but that the on-field call was not overturned to reflect that review.
The official also suggested that Kukulyak’s overall ranking has suffered as a result of the perceived misstep, with the referee’s current score being too low to place him in contention for higher assignments in the near term. Kamantsev indicated that after a break Kukulyak might return to duties, though his status could see him assigned primarily to lower-tier national competitions for a period. The remarks were reported in media discussions surrounding the incident.
Earlier, the 1-1 draw between Zenit and Dynamo remained intact after the final whistle. With the score level, Kukulyak opted not to award a penalty following the VAR review. In the same match, Zenit’s Claudinho attempted a shot from outside the box, striking Dynamo forward Konstantin Tyukavin, who then collapsed to the field.
There has also been commentary from football commentators urging Spartak and Dynamo to show unity and patience during this period of scrutiny and evaluation for match officials.