Football commentator **Georgy Cherdantsev** shared insights about his relationship with the head coach of the Russian national team, **Valery Karpin**, who has previously expressed criticism towards Russian commentators.

**“Have you spoken with Karpin after his public remarks about commentators?”**
**“We communicate regularly. At the last Winter Cup in Abu Dhabi, I played my favorite padel with Georgy. Everything is perfectly fine between us — there are no misunderstandings. Often people blow things out of proportion. What gets highlighted publicly does not affect our personal relationship in any way. With most individuals in football, I share a mutual respect and nearly 30 years of acquaintance.

Emotions run high in football; people can get offended by any careless word. You wouldn’t believe it, but I haven’t had a single real conflict with anyone in this industry!

I maintain a good rapport with everyone in Russian football — even with the more challenging personalities. There are naturally difficult characters, but even they say: ‘I’ll always come to you.’ That’s a compliment to me. It means I’m managing to navigate this delicate balance. People recognize respect. I have often faced the accusation that I don’t ask tough questions. But that’s not about loyalty — it’s basic courtesy. Being rude, disrespectful, or teasing individuals who may be older or more experienced than you isn’t the interviewer’s role. Essentially, when someone joins your broadcast, they are doing you a favor. They owe you nothing. Unlike a politician who comes to an interview to charm the audience and win votes, this person should be ready for difficult or uncomfortable questions.

There are television formats where tough questions are asked. Viewers later watch clips saying, ‘Wow, those questions!’ And in the comments, you see responses like, ‘Are you idiots? It’s all scripted.’ The actor’s director and PR manager finely tune every joke right down to the punctuation for what the actor will deliver as if it were spontaneous. That’s show business, a performance! Meanwhile, we operate live. You cannot disregard anything that has been said.

Moreover, a seasoned interviewer should realize that if they put someone in an uncomfortable position, that individual will close off and will only respond to subsequent questions with ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ Is that what you want? Will they return to you next time? No. We need these people because the audience wants to see them. Undoubtedly, tough questions can be posed, but the key is to treat your interlocutor with respect,” Cherdantsev explained in an exclusive interview with **Championat** correspondent Oleg Lysenko.**