The war of aggression against Ukraine is having an impact on the personnel situation in the Russian national soccer team: Captain Artem Dzyuba will not take part in the forthcoming international trip, as national coach Valeri Karpin announced on Tuesday.
The professional of the Russian top club Zenit St. Petersburg “because of the difficult situation in Ukraine, where many of his family members live, asked not to be nominated,” said Karpin. Furthermore, the 53-year-old said he would not nominate players from European clubs.
Dzyuba had already publicly commented on the acts of war. At the beginning of March, he responded to a call by ex-Dortmunder and Ukrainian Andriy Yarmolenko and called the war a “terrible thing”, but also denounced an alleged “double standard” in the imposition of sanctions.
As a result of the war of aggression, the Russian national team has already been excluded from the World Cup in Qatar (November 21 to December 18), and the opponents for the upcoming international matches have not yet been determined.