In France, the situation surrounding "PSG" goalkeeper Matvey Safonov has reportedly been influenced by Russian media involvement. The French website Football365 has published an article by journalist Antoine Clare, focusing on the Russian goalkeeper’s performance and the reactions of local media.
According to Clare, the Russian media is actively promoting Safonov and attempting to influence the balance of power among PSG's goalkeepers. "The lobbying campaign coming from the East, from Russia, is not only continuing but intensifying.
For a long time, the Russian media focused on a supposed conflict between Matvey Safonov and Ukrainian defender Ilya Zabarnyi. Now, Russian media outlets have shifted their narrative to defend Safonov’s interests.
This situation occurred two days after PSG’s decisive 5-0 victory over Rennes. In that match, Safonov started as the main goalkeeper due to the injury of the French goalkeeper," writes the author.
According to Clare, after that match, Russian media emphasized that Safonov fully utilized his opportunity, while portraying Lucas Chevalier as a goalkeeper who "sometimes displays weak performances." "The media didn’t stop there, openly stating that PSG fans don’t favor Chevalier and describing him as a 'melancholy-looking' player when seen on the stands.
This supposedly indicates his lack of popularity. Such a one-sided narrative seems aimed at immediately legitimizing a shift in the hierarchy among goalkeepers.
For Moscow, this issue is already resolved: Safonov is the hero, while Chevalier is the obstacle," Clare adds. Concluding the article, the author notes that PSG is in a unique "trap": on one hand, an internal "cold war" between two national representatives, Safonov and Zabarnyi, and on the other hand, pressure from Russian media.
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