Anatoliy Tymoshchuk: Ukraine FA calls for ex-captain to be punished
- Published
Tymoshchuk holds the Ukraine caps record having played 144 times for his country between 2000 and 2016
Former Ukraine captain Anatoliy Tymoshchuk should be stripped of his coaching licence and titles because of his role at Zenit St Petersburg, the country's football association says.
The 42-year-old has been an assistant coach at the Russian club since 2017.
He is yet to speak out against Russia's invasion of his homeland.
His "conscious choice" to continue at Zenit "damages the image of Ukrainian football", says the Ukrainian Association of Football (UAF).
Tymoshchuk is Ukraine's most-capped player, having made 144 international appearances between 2000 and 2016.
A statement from the UAF's ethics and fair play committee read: "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 co-operation with the club of the aggressor."
Widely regarded as one of Ukraine's greatest players, Tymoshchuk won league titles with Shakhtar Donetsk and Zenit and was part of Bayern Munich's Treble-winning team of 2012-13. He captained his country at Euro 2016.
"At a time when another former club, Bayern Munich, publishes statements and holds actions in support of Ukraine, Tymoshchuk continues to remain silent and work for the club of the aggressor," added the UAF's statement.
In addition to calling for Tymoshchuk to be stripped of his coaching licence, the UAF wants to strip him of his league and cup wins in Ukraine and exclude him from the official register of national team players.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine has prompted several Ukrainian sportspeople to join their nation's military effort, including tennis player Sergiy Stakhovsky, heavyweight champion boxer Oleksandr Usyk and three-weight champion fighter Vasiliy Lomachenko.
Brothers Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko, both former heavyweight world champions, are also defending their homeland, while earlier this week, Olympic karate medallist Stanislav Horuna spoke to BBC Radio 5 Live about joining his country's defence against Russia.