The ex-skipper of football Ukraine Tymoshchuk is threatened with a possible ban on coaching because of silence on Russia

FILE PHOTO: Anatoliy Tymoshchuk reacts during a photo call in Munich July 30, 2012 when he was a player for Bayern Munich. REUTERS/Michaela Re/File Photo

March 9, 2022

(Reuters) – An ethics panel at the Football Union of Ukraine (UAF) is looking to strip ex-national team captain Anatoliy Tymoshchuk of his coaching license and state awards for remaining silent on the Russian invasion and his continued work with Russia’s Zenit Saint Petersburg.

Tymoshchuk, 42, is Ukraine’s record capper with 144 caps between 2000 and 2016. He won league titles with Shakhtar Donetsk and Zenit Saint Petersburg while winning the treble with Bayern Munich in 2013.

He is currently an assistant coach at Zenit Saint Petersburg. Neither he nor the club immediately responded to Reuters requests for comment.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has led to sanctions on sports around the world. Several Ukrainian athletes have denounced the war and also expressed their support for their armed forces.

“Since the beginning of Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine, Tymoshchuk … not only has not made any public statements in this regard, but also has not ceased his cooperation with the attacker’s club,” the UAF Ethics and Fair Play Committee said in a statement https ://en.uaf.ua/article/44552.

“At a time when another former club, Bayern Munich, is releasing statements and taking actions in support of Ukraine, Tymoshchuk remains silent.”

She suggested the UAF revoke his coaching license. She also wants to strip Tymoshchuk of his league and cup winners’ medals in Ukraine and exclude him from the official register of national team players.

(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Nick Macfie)