“In view of the difficult situation in Ukraine, where many members of his family live, Artem apologized and asked, for family reasons, not to be summoned” for the next meetings of the Russian selection, explained Valéri Karpin in an interview published on the website of the Russian Federation.
“We have agreed to keep in touch and I will carefully follow his next outings with Zenit (Saint Petersburg),” he added.
After the invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces, Fifa decided to exclude Russia from the qualifying play-offs for the World Cup-2022 scheduled for the end of the month. The Russian Football Federation challenged this decision before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and requested its lifting as a precaution, an aspect on which the CAS must rule soon.
Whatever happens, the selection will gather “from March 21 to 27”, according to the coach. “The exact program of the camp, as well as the friendly matches, is being drawn up and will be published later,” he said.
“As I had already done, for logistical reasons, I made the decision not to call players playing in European clubs for this internship,” added Valéri Karpine.