Scandal in Kazakh language
Stanislav Cherchesov, former head coach of the Russian national team and now coach of the Kazakhstan national team, was involved in a scandal related to the Kazakh language. At the press conference held after the UEFA Nations League match against Slovenia (0:1), Cherchesov gave a vague answer to a journalist’s question in Kazakh.
“Are you speaking French now? Paris, ui, ui, sa-va bien”
— The expert reacted immediately when he heard the question in Kazakh.
This answer, strange out of context, stems from the fact that the journalist asking the question was wearing a French Paris Saint-Germain jersey in the conference room.
The incident caused immediate controversy, and the performance of the head coach of the country’s national team was not very pleasant for the Ministry of Sports of Kazakhstan, which issued a statement.
“A video in which the head coach of the Kazakhstan national football team Stanislav Cherchesov allegedly insults the Kazakh language is actively distributed on social networks. This incident caused a wide public outcry, as indicated in the material published on the official website of the organization.
— The Ministry of Tourism and Sports of the Republic of Kazakhstan immediately responded to this situation and sent an official request to the Kazakhstan Football Federation. The document states that in accordance with the Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Law on Languages, the state language has a special status and all citizens are obliged to show due respect to it.
The Ministry of Sports also requested the Kazakhstan Football Federation (KFF) to make official statements and carry out explanatory studies together with the coach of the Kazakhstan national team on the need to respect the country’s state language.
The Ministry also emphasized that since the football federation is outside its jurisdiction, they cannot interfere with its work, but as a state institution, the Ministry of Sports has the right to request an explanation.
The last paragraph says, “The Ministry of Tourism and Sports of the Republic of Kazakhstan calls on all sports federations of the country to respect state symbols and national values, with the exception of inappropriate statements directed against them.”
KFF quickly responded by issuing its own statement.
“This question was asked by Kazakh journalist Begasyl Seitkhanov, who was wearing the T-shirt of the French club PSG at a press conference at the time, and the coach answered this question with some humour,” the organization said in a statement. .
“We declare that Stanislav Cherchesov has great respect for the Kazakh language and culture of our country and also actively studies the Kazakh language.”
Not for the first time
This is not the first controversial incident involving Cherchesov and the Kazakh language. At the end of June, shortly after being appointed head coach of the local team, the Russian coach got angry at a question asked in Kazakh and asked if he could answer in Ossetian. The journalist agreed, but Cherchesov stated that “no one will understand.”
The translator was the President of the Football Federation of Kazakhstan, Adilet Barmenkulov, to whom the coach also joked – they say that he was not known as the interviewee, but the president translated for him.
At the same time, when Cherchesov came to Astana with the Russian national team in 2019, he told local journalists that he understood Kazakh.
Kazakhstan’s anti-registration
Cherchesov led the Kazakhstan national team ahead of the start of the UEFA Nations League this summer. In the first match, the Kazakh players managed to contain the Norwegian attack against Manchester City’s Erling Haaland (0:0), but things did not go any better.
Kazakhstan received 0:3 points away from Slovenia and 0:4 points from Austria at home, and after losing to the Slovenes and at home in October, the Kazakhstan team set a personal anti-record of not scoring a goal in four consecutive matches.
However, the expert himself speaks about the development of his players, and similar statements can be heard from the federation leadership, who emphasize that they do not plan to resign and that they fully trust the Russian coach.
What are you thinking?
Source: Gazeta
Gregory Robert is a sports aficionado and a writer for “Social Bites”. He provides in-depth coverage of the latest sporting events and trends, offering a unique and knowledgeable perspective on the world of sports.