Tymoshchuk is Ukraine’s most-capped player.
The Ukrainian Football Association have stripped their most-capped player of all time, Anatoliy Tymoshchuk, of all of his individual titles and appearances as punishment for his silence on Russia’s invasion of his homeland.
Tymoshchuk, who has won 144 caps, is currently based in Russia, working for Zenit St Petersburg as their assistant manager and is yet to speak out against the ongoing war.
While the 42-year-old has yet to publicly speak out, several other Ukrainian footballers have including Yaroslav Rakitskiy, who left Zenit by mutual consent after he spoke out against the invasion authorised by Vladimir Putin.
Last week, Tymoshchuk’s former international teammate Ruslan Malinovskyi publicly criticised the midfielder and questioned his silence on the invasion.
He tweeted: “I don’t know about Tymoshchuk, you need to ask him. Hard to comment but it’s weird (why he hasn’t) – I think it’s not right.
“It’s 100% the case that he’s no longer (or ever will be) a legend of Ukraine football.
“His previous achievements have been forgotten.”
Malinovskyi on Tymoshchuk:
‘Idk about Tymoshchuk, you need to ask him. Hard to comment but it’s weird (why he hasn’t) – I think it’s not right
It’s 100% the case that he’s no longer (or ever will be) a legend of 🇺🇦 football. His previous achievements have been forgotten’ pic.twitter.com/Yze27u3aPV
— Zorya Londonsk (@ZoryaLondonsk) March 4, 2022
The former Shakhtar Donetsk midfielder is the country’s highest-capped player with 144 appearances for his national team and has even been voted Ukraine’s greatest player of all time – beating Andriy Shevchenko in a poll.
🇺🇦Ukraine have stripped their most capped player Anatoliy Tymoshchuk of his Ukrainian coaching licence and all his caps.
The FA announced the decision with this graphic saying "You know the direction, follow the warship", after he refused to condemn the Russian invasion. pic.twitter.com/bg5kbz4Wxr
— Sam Street (@samstreetwrites) March 9, 2022
However, the UAF have said they will now revoke Tymoshchuk of his coaching licenses as well as all of his state awards and titles he’s won throughout his career.
A statement from the Ukrainian FA read: “The Ethics and Fair Play Committee of the Ukrainian Football Association has made a statement about violations of the Code of Ethics and Fair Play by former national team player Anatoliy Tymoshchuk.
“Guided by Article 62 of the Disciplinary Rules of the UAF, after reviewing and verifying the information from 08.03.2022 on possible violations of the Code of Ethics and Fair Play Tymoshchuk Anatoly Alexandrovich, the Committee on Ethics and Fair Play of the UAF addresses the following.
“Tymoshchuk AA, March 30.03.1979, 2007, is a record holder of the national team of Ukraine in the number of matches held in its composition, champion of Ukraine, Germany, Russia, winner of the UEFA Champions League, winner of the UEFA Super Cup. During 2009-2013 and 2015-2017 AA Tymoshchuk played for the Russian FC Zenit (St. Petersburg) and since XNUMX he has been working in the club as a coach.
“Since the beginning of Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine, Tymoshchuk AA, the former captain of the Ukrainian national team, not only did not make any public statements in this regard, but also did not stop his cooperation with the club of the aggressor.
“At a time when another former Ukrainian club, FC Bayern Munich (Munich), publishes statements and holds actions in support of Ukraine, Tymoshchuk AA continues to remain silent and work for the club of the aggressor. By making this conscious choice, AA Tymoshchuk damages the image of Ukrainian football and violates Clause 1.4. Part 1 of Art. 4 of the Code of Ethics and Fair Play UAF.”
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