Translated material
Directional Sound
Let us recall that the seven-minute audio file, posted on the Internet on the eve of the fifth, decisive match of the series (May 20), initially shocked the basketball community. The inspector of the first and second games (May 13-14), the chief specialist of the Super League, Maxim Astanin, reprimanded the referees for improper efforts to ensure a positive result for the southerners (or a negative result for Muscovites). Further investigation by technical experts revealed that the recording was an elaborate compilation of more extensive seven hours of source material resulting from the presence of a listening device in the locker room over two game days.
The scandal, which made it clear about the existence of a number of negative phenomena in our basketball, received wide coverage in many media, but for some reason interest in this story has decreased almost to zero since the withdrawal of men's clubs from the super league (June 15) and their creation of an independent RFB Professional Basketball League. At the last executive committee, where one of the items on the agenda was the question of “the work of the commission to analyze the situation related to the audio recording published on the Internet on May 20, 2010,” there were representatives of only two publications, including Vremya Novostey. RFB President Sergei Chernov was sincerely surprised by such a small number: “Where are everyone else who covered these events so actively?” The general director of the capital's Dynamo, Gennady Drozdov, was also absent. It was he who most harshly accused the RFB of corruption.
The special commission made the following conclusions: “The conversation itself about sports competitions between the referees took place. However, there is no consensus among the participants about its goals and the specific persons discussed; allegorical statements give rise to ambiguous ideas. The audio recording of the conversation, in violation of the Super League regulations prohibiting access to the locker room for unauthorized persons, was made illegally by an unidentified person(s). The recording was made public with deliberate distortions, certain phrases were taken out of the context of the conversation, which does not correspond to the conversation that actually took place and changes its meaning in terms of the assumption that judges are inclined to bias. The materials from the survey of the conversation participants do not confirm that pressure was exerted on them in order to distort the results of the competition. No evidence of attempted bribery has been identified.”
The Executive Committee pointed out to the President of the RBF Chernov the need for better control over the organization of competitions under the auspices of the RFB, as well as the need for careful selection of employees to work in the federation.
In this whole story, what is most surprising today is the following: if the development of our club basketball required the creation of a new league, independent of the federation, then can the only reason for its establishment be a scandal? By the way, the new league quickly made a strange decision to expand the limit on foreign players and completely removed all previously existing quotas for the representation of foreigners in the coaching and administrative headquarters of teams.