FC Ufa has been awarded a technical defeat (0:3) for their Matchday 32 First League fixture against SKA-Khabarovsk, the club announced following a meeting of the RFU Control and Disciplinary Committee (KDC). The decision was made after the team failed to travel to Khabarovsk due to a force majeure situation: the Ufa airport was closed because of a drone threat.
The issue came to light on the day before the game. On May 2, a drone danger alert was declared in Bashkortostan, causing significant flight disruptions. The club then released an official statement: “Due to a delay of over four hours on the Ufa–Novosibirsk flight, caused by the activation of the ‘Kover’ regime and the closure of airspace over the Republic of Bashkortostan, the team’s departure did not take place. Under these circumstances, there was no possibility to make a connection at Novosibirsk airport to continue to Khabarovsk.”
On match day, the First League stated: “FC Ufa did not arrive at the stadium within the time stipulated by regulations. Given the notification received and the actual absence of the visiting team, its failure to appear for the match will be recorded.”
According to the league’s regulations for the 2025/26 season, the KDC reviewed the incident and made the ruling. On May 5, it was announced that Ufa had been handed a technical defeat with a score of 0:3. The RFU website clarified: “In accordance with Article 22, Part 1 of Article 86 of the RFU Disciplinary Regulations, and Clause 9.8 of the First League Regulations for the 2025/26 season, for the team’s failure to appear for the match, a defeat is awarded to FC Ufa.”
The club plans to appeal. Ufa’s sporting director, Anzor Sanaya, argued that the KDC did not provide any justification for the technical loss during the hearing. “At the meeting, we heard absolutely no reasoning behind this decision. We’ll wait for the written explanation and arguments from the KDC. We’ll study them and file an appeal. Moreover, the decision was announced without giving us a chance to speak further – the meeting was simply ended. We heard no arguments or evidence from the regulations that could have influenced this decision. This ruling sets a serious precedent. We believe the team’s absence in Khabarovsk was due to force majeure. We will see from the documents how ready the KDC and the RFU are to justify their decision. We do not understand and do not accept this ruling,” he told Sport-Express.
Journalist Ivan Karpov questioned on social media: “Why fly to Khabarovsk on the day of the match when Bashkortostan constantly has ‘carpet’ regimes due to attacks on oil infrastructure? And how did they plan to make a one-hour connection in Novosibirsk with a different airline? It seems they didn’t really want to go to Khabarovsk, hoping the match would be postponed to a reserve date (though none remain, with three rounds left). The Ufa side approached this away trip too irresponsibly.”
Well-known sports lawyer Yuri Zaitsev, co-founder of the international company SILA and a Sport-Express columnist, explained in his Telegram channel: “Ufa needed to prove that due to the airport closure, there were no other possible ways to reach the match venue. It seems there might have been problems with that if the club had an option to use alternative routes. Or if the KDC determined that Ufa lacked due diligence by not flying to the game earlier. We’ll wait for official comments from the KDC and the First League.”
Every point is crucial now for Ufa as they fight to avoid relegation from the First League. In the current standings, SKA-Khabarovsk sits 13th with 38 points, while Ufa (31 points) is in 15th place. The Bashkortostan side is only two points ahead of Chernomorets, who occupy 16th position in the relegation zone.