Russian football chiefs are pushing UEFA to ban Oleksandr Petrakov, the manager of Ukraine, after he voiced his desire to take up arms and defend his country.
Vladimir Putin ordered his troops to invade Ukraine in February and war continues to rage in the Eastern European nation. Unified world heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk was among the sporting figures to join the fight against the aggressors.
Speaking in April, Petrakov also vowed he would join his countrymen on the front line if Russian forces made it to the Ukrainian capital. "I thought, if they come to Kyiv, I will pick up a weapon and defend my city," he told The Guardian. "I am 64 but I felt it was normal to do this. I think I could take two or three enemies out."
The quotes were carried by numerous newspapers on the continent and the Football Union of Russia (FUR) was alerted to them. Denis Rogachev, the deputy secretary general of the FUR, claims Petrakov broke UEFA rules with his comments and has written to their control, ethics and disciplinary body to call for him to be banned.
That is according to a fresh report in The Guardian, which claims that Rogachev asserts that Petrakov was discriminatory towards Russians and failed to remain politically neutral. During his interview, Petrakov also confirmed he had spoken to a Ukrainian government official about joining the territorial defence.
The Ukraine boss is now 65 and was informed that his lack of military experience and age made him unsuited for a role in the forces. The FUR alleges that Petrakov's comments breach FIFA and UEFA rules which prohibit "discrimination of any kind against a country" and aim to promote football "in a spirit of peace".
In a sternly-worded response, a spokesman for the Ukrainian Association of Football said: "When his country was attacked by invading inhumans, [Petrakov] was ready to defend his land, his women and children. He was not accepted into the army due to his lack of military experience, but his step is a testament to his devotion to the country and patriotism. What kind of discrimination can we talk about in relation to a nation that deliberately commits genocide against another nation?"
The report notes Rogachev's letter to UEFA does not reference the invasion of Ukraine - which has claimed the lives of thousands of military and civilian personnel - but accuses Petrakov of making a "call for violence".
He wrote: "The statements by the head coach of the Ukrainian representative football team, Oleksandr Petrakov, are made against the background of the political conflict between the two countries - Russia and Ukraine - and represents a political message which obviously violates the fundamental principle of political neutrality.
"Moreover, the head coach’s behavior (sic) can be regarded as involvement on (sic) promoting public hatred on [a] national basis and [the] use of football to assert the (sic) political views." Rogachev was also enraged by Petrakov calling for Russian athletes to be banned from competing. At present, UEFA and FIFA have prohibited Russian clubs and national teams from their competitions, but players can still ply their trade.
The FUR have cited the case of an employee of Azerbaijani club Qarab, who was fined €100,000 (£87,000) and banned for life after he posted on Facebook calling for Armenians - including "children, women, old people" - to be killed.
The complaint to UEFA's disciplinary group will lead to an investigation and agreement on a sanction requires a majority verdict from the body, which is made up of a president, two vice-presidents three to seven members.
A UEFA spokesperson said: "We cannot comment on individual cases. When complaints are received, they are dealt with in accordance with the provisions of the disciplinary regulations. We have no further information to provide you with at this stage."
