War and Putin not condemned – Ukraine bans ex-Bayern star for life
Anatoly Tymoshchuk has been working as an assistant coach at Zenit St. Petersburg since 2016
Quelle: Getty Images/Chris Brunskill/Fantasista
Since the beginning of the war, Ukraine’s record national team player Timoshchuk has not spoken publicly. Because he does not condemn the Russian war of aggression, the Ukrainian Football Union is now taking harsh measures against the Zenit St. Petersburg assistant coach.
WBecause he did not condemn the Russian war against Ukraine despite being asked to do so, the football association in Kyiv banned ex-Bundesliga professional Anatoly Timoschtschuk (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 for 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.
With 144 caps, Tymoshchuk is the record player for Ukraine, ahead of legendary striker Andriy Shevchenko (111), who named him their “Footballer of the Year” three times. The association is also seeking the withdrawal of all of its state awards.
That was evident. In the middle of the week, the association’s ethics committee said: “At the time, while another ex-club of the Ukrainian, FC Bayern Munich, publishes statements and carries out actions in support of Ukraine, Tymoshchuk is silent and continues to work for the aggressor’s club.” This was combined with a request to Timoschtschuk that he should immediately distance himself from the barbaric activities of the Russian aggressors.
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Timoschtschuk, who comes from Lutsk in western Ukraine, had long played for the Donetsk club Shakhtar. In 2007, Zenit St. Petersburg took him on for what was then a record transfer fee in Russia of 15 million euros. Timoschtschuk won the championship with Zenit straight away and in 2008 the Europa League. In 2009 he moved to Munich for four years, where he won the treble including the Champions League in 2013. After a second stint at Zenit St. Petersburg, he completed his playing career in Kazakhstan in 2016 at Quairat Almaty. Since then he has been an assistant coach at Zenit from the hometown of Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin.
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.
“We are on the way to victory”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sees a “turning point” in the war. “We are on the way to victory,” he says in a speech to the population. He cannot say how long the war will go on.
