Anatoliy Tymoshchuk played for Ukraine on 144 occasions and wore the shirts of Bayern Munich, Zenit Saint Petersburg, and Shakhtar Donetsk at the club level during his career.
The former midfielder is now considered a traitor in his native Ukraine after not speaking out against Russia’s invasion. Tymoshchuk also refused to leave his job as assistant manager of Zenit in Russia. The 42-year-old will be stripped of all his honors in Ukraine, with his coaching license also retracted.
Through an official statement, the Ethics and Fair Play Committee of the Ukrainian FA asked for immediate sanctions regarding Tymoshchuk. He is about to lose his UEFA Pro coaching license, as well as all his awards and honorary titles, including the trophies he won at domestic level in Ukraine: the league, the Cup, and the Super Cup. His 144 caps for Ukraine, a national record, will be erased from the official stats.
Tymoshchuk failed to defend his country
Following Putin’s order to invade Ukraine, Yaroslav Rakitskyi left Zenit, where he was playing, while Ivan Ordets broke his contract with Dynamo Moscow. The same team’s assistant coach, Andriy Voronin, also chose to leave. Tymoshchuk is the only high-profile name from Ukraine that refused to follow suit. Despite being heavily criticized, the former Ukrainian star remained silent.
Tymoshchuk wore Bayern Munich’s shirt for four years and spent a total of nine seasons at Shakhtar during his playing days. Zenit was an important name for him as well. Tymoschuk spent four years in Saint Petersburg during two stints as a player, but he joined the club in 2017 in a coaching role.
Following the Ukrainian FA’s decision, Tymoshchuk will be left without three Ukrainian league trophies, three Cups and one Super Cup.
Atalanta’s Ruslan Malinovskyi spoke about Tymoshchuk’s lack of solidarity during a Q&A on Twitter.
“It’s hard to comment, but it amazes me. I can’t explain his position in this situation, but I think it’s wrong,” Malinovskyi said.
“I don’t know how he’ll live with this. But the fact that he is no longer a legend of Ukrainian football is one hundred percent true. During these days, everyone has forgotten about his services to the country,” Malinovskyi stressed.
Tymoshchuk allegedly refused to pay alimony to his ex-wife for their children motivating he was affected financially because of the sanctions imposed on Russia.
Well well well…
Anatoliy Tymoshchuk has spoken! (Via a lawyer) but NOT on the Russian invasion…
Instead he REFUSES to pay alimony (to his ex wife for their kids) on the basis of sanctions placed on Russia…
L O L pic.twitter.com/RfX5TfZoAI
— Zorya Londonsk (@ZoryaLondonsk) March 5, 2022
