The captain of the Russian national team,Artem Dzyuba has decided to turn down a call-up to the national team squad.
Dzyuba’s decision comes as a result of the ongoing political conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
Russia had earlier been scheduled to play Poland in their 2022 World Cup playoff clash but it was canceled. However, with no fixtures to play, the coach of the Russian national team, Valeri Karpin decided to bring his players together regardless for training and an intrasquad friendly against their U21 side.
Speaking on Dzyuba’s decision to turn down the callup, Karpin said:
'He assured me ... he really wants to play for the national team,' Karpin was quoted as saying, in an interview published on the website of the Russian Football Union. I
'But now, due to the difficult situation in Ukraine, where he has many relatives, he apologized and asked, for family reasons, not to be called up to this camp,'
Dzyuba later claimed his decision was not due to 'political issues', stressing that there was a 'misunderstanding' between himself and the coach.
'I didn't not join the Russian national team because of political issues. It's about family circumstances, but I don't want to go into details,' he was quoted as telling the Sport-Express news outlet.
'It seems to me that there was a misunderstanding, (coach) Valery Georgievich (Karpin) misunderstood me, or his words were misinterpreted.'
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