Sometimes a silence says more than 1000 words…
Because he did not condemn the Russian war against Ukraine despite being asked to do so, the football association in Kyiv has banned ex-Bundesliga professional Anatoly Tymoshchuk (42) from playing football in Ukraine for life.
The former captain of the Ukraine national team has not made a public statement on the war, nor has he quit his job as an assistant coach at Russian club Zenit St. Petersburg, the decision published on Friday said.
The former Bayern Munich professional will have his coaching license revoked, it said. In addition, the 42-year-old will be stripped of all sporting titles won in Ukraine. And the midfielder will be removed from all national registers.
Tymoshchuk leads the list with 144 caps ahead of legendary striker Andriy Shevchenko (45/111 games). The association is also seeking the withdrawal of all of its state awards.
Tymoschtschuk, who comes from Lutsk in western Ukraine, had played for the Donetsk club Shakhtar for a long time and moved to Munich for four years in 2009. After a stint at Zenit St. Petersburg, he completed his playing career in Kazakhstan in 2016 at Quairat Almaty. He has been an assistant coach at Zenit since 2017.
The footballer has not spoken publicly since the war began on February 24. The most recent social media posts are from January and revolve around a bike ride in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
