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Igor Pankratyev, the head coach of Vilnius "Žalgiris", is facing serious trouble - after the match between "Žalgiris" and Panevėžys "Ekrantas" in the third round of the III "A Lyga", he got angry at the referee's decisions and attacked the official, and for this behavior he should be disqualified.
During a press conference held after the match, the "Žalgiris" coach expressed dissatisfaction with the referee's work and accused him of unfairly awarding a penalty to Vilnius team, after which Mantas Savėnas scored for "Ekrantas" and later converted a penalty earned for a weak foul, leading to a 2-0 victory for Panevėžys.
As it turned out later, the match referee Viktoras Chileckis left a note in the match protocol stating: "After the match, in the referees' changing room, the head coach of 'Žalgiris', Igor Pankratyev, physically attacked the field referee."
On Thursday, the LFF Discipline Committee decided to suspend Igor Pankratyev's authority to lead the "Žalgiris" team until the final decision is made. The final decision will be announced on April 25, when another disciplinary committee meeting will take place, with both parties involved in the incident, as well as representatives of "Žalgiris" and the referees.
Today, the Vilnius club also issued a statement in which "President Arminas Narbekovas on behalf of the club and himself apologizes to the main match referee Viktor Chileckis and the National Referees Association for the unacceptable behavior of head coach Igor Pankratyev, which occurred after the match between Vilnius "Žalgiris" and Panevėžys "Ekrantas."
"The behavior of head coach Igor Pankratyev will be discussed in the club's board and, I believe, we will draw appropriate conclusions to prevent similar incidents in the future," emphasized club president Arminas Narbekovas.
