The Ukraine Football Association has called on the country’s most capped player Anatoliy Tymoshchuk to be stripped of his honorary titles as punishment for his “silence” on Russia.
Tymoshchuk, who represented Ukraine’s national team a record 144 times, is serving as the assistant manager of Zenit St Petersburg and is yet to condemn Russia’s invasion of his homeland, the Ukrainian FA said.
The former Shakhtar Donetsk, Bayern Munich and Zenit midfielder has been cited by the Ukrainian FA, who have said he has violated their code of ethics and is damaging the image of Ukrainian football.
Other former internationals, such as former Liverpool forward Andriy Voronin, have ended their contracts with Russian clubs and have spoken out against the Vladimir Putin-backed invasion of Ukraine.
In a statement, the Ukraine FA said Tymoshchuk would be deprived of his state awards, honorary titles and coaching licences. The 42-year-old is also set to be stripped of his Ukrainian Premier League winners medals and struck from the register of national players.
“Since the beginning of Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine, Tymoshchuk AA, the former captain of the Ukrainian national team, not only did not make any public statements in this regard, but also did not stop his cooperation with the club of the aggressor,” the Ukrainian FA said.
“At a time when another club, FC Bayern Munich, publishes statements and holds actions in support of Ukraine, Tymoshchuk AA continues to remain silent and work for the club of the aggressor.
“By making this conscious choice, AA Tymoshchuk damages the image of Ukrainian football and violates the Code of Ethics and Fair Play UAF.”
Tymoshchuk was also called out by Ruslan Malinovskyi, the Atalanta and Ukraine midfielder, who said he can no longer be called a “legend” of Ukraine because of his silence.
Tymoshchuk is a three-time Ukrainian player of the year and won four national titles while with Shakhtar. He won the Champions League while playing with Bayern Munich in 2013 and represented Ukraine at the 2006 World Cup and 2012 and 2016 European Championships.
