2023-04-18 18:47:43
A tough decision for a Dynamo graduate.
Recently, Russian athletes often have to choose between belonging to their native country and the opportunity to compete at international competitions. Many end up changing their passports and moving to other teams. However, sometimes even holders of dual citizenship have to give up the red book with an eagle in order to go to some tournament.
These are the harsh laws of some countries.
One of two
Barys forward Dmitry Gurkov, who had Russian and Kazakh passports, had to take such drastic measures. The need to decide on citizenship arose following the appeal of the fans of the national team of Kazakhstan to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the country. According to the Shaiba.kz portal, the fans demanded that the authorities check the hockey players for a second passport, which is prohibited by local law.
The check showed that Gurkov and three other players of the Kazakhstan national team have two passports in their hands. They were given a choice: either they surrender their Russian passport and go to the World Cup, or they renounce Kazakh citizenship and do not get into the national team. Dmitry chose the first option.
Only one transmission
Dmitry Gurkov is a graduate of the Dynamo Moscow system, in which he played until the age of 17. Then the striker moved to the Lithuanian Zalgiris, and a year later he became a player in the Snow Leopards, the youth team of the Astana Barys. Gurkov has been playing in the system of Kazakhstanis since 2015, plying between the main team and Nomad, a farm club that plays in the national championship.
Dmitry received his first call-up to the national team in February 2018. Then he played two friendly matches with the South Korean national team (3:1 and 0:3) and did not distinguish himself. In the same season, the striker went to the World Cup, but he also did not show himself there. Gurkov was called up to the national team for the World Cup twice more (in 2021 and 2022), but so far his only achievement is an assist in the match with Canada (3:6) at the 2022 World Cup.
This season, the hockey player, as before, is torn between Barys and Nomad. As part of the first, he spent 34 matches and scored only with an assist. In the second, things are much better: 6 points (4+2) in 13 games and the title of champion of Kazakhstan.
Passport for the contract
Legionnaires in the Kazakhstani national team are not uncommon. One might even say too frequent.
The first foreigner in the national team was a pupil of the Barnaul hockey Andrey Solovyov. True, no one considered him a stranger: he made a name for himself in Ust-Kamenogorsk, giving the local “Torpedo” 11 years. In 1993, Solovyov played at the first World Championship for Kazakhstan, following which he returned to his native Barnaul.
A serious influx of legionnaires occurred in 2007. Then Kazakhstan attracted six Russians under its banner, five of whom went to the World Cup. The players were looked for in local clubs, where they came as foreigners. Hockey players were offered good conditions in exchange for a change of citizenship. Over time, this became a serious problem for national hockey: in the end, it is always easier to take a run-in Russian or Canadian than to raise your own.
– The functionaries realized that they might not develop hockey, but stupidly issue turquoise passports to players from other countries. For a decent or even just a contract at Barys, they are ready to play for the national team,” the Shaiba.kz portal wrote in 2022.
The attitude towards foreigners in the national team, as you might guess, is not the most positive. Only a few are honored with respect and praise: for example, Roman Zavodov, Konstantin Kasatkin, or the same Andrei Solovyov. The rest of the fans, if they love, then much less.
Is this kind of love necessary?
The story of the passport check, by the way, is not the first time. In December 2022, an active group of fans turned to the Ministry of Internal Affairs with a demand to check the Barys forward Dmitry Shevchenko for dual citizenship. Law enforcement officers found out that the hockey player really hid the fact of possessing a Russian passport, and canceled his Kazakh document.
The current test, under which Gurkov, Sagadeev, Petukhov and Maklyukov fell, I think, is far from the last. And, perhaps, it would be worth thinking before remaining under the flag of the national team, whose fans can substitute. And is such “love” worth the World Cup? Moreover, the Kazakhstan national team has practically no chances on it anyway.
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