Valery Ovchinnikov, former head coach of Lokomotiv Nizhny Novgorod, said that the Russian Football Union (RFU) did not accept the participation of the Russian team in the Central Asian League championship due to fear of losing in matches played with opponents from Asia.
“Climate is a good reason not to participate. We do not play in the summer. Get used to the cold. They probably think that in the RFU Chukchi plays football in our country. You can’t go to the field in the summer or we will melt.
I have a feeling the RFU is more afraid of getting hit in the head this tournament. Our Asian brothers,” Ovchinnikov said. “RB Sports”.
On April 18, RFU Secretary General Maxim Mitrofanov announced that he had rejected the offer to play in the tournament.
The Central Asian Football Federation’s championship will be held in June 2023. Teams from Tajikistan, Iran, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Afghanistan will participate.
Recall that in March 2022 the participation of Russian clubs and national team in tournaments under the auspices of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and the International Football Federation (FIFA) was suspended.
Yura Movsisyan, former striker of Spartak and Krasnodar declarationHe said that Russian football fans should not regret that the midfielder of the Kuban team, Eduard Spersyan, decided to play for the Armenian national team.