Zenit forward cites family for rejecting call-up to Russian national team

ANKARA

Russian footballer Artem Dzyuba has rejected a call-up to the national team due to "family circumstances.”

"I didn't not join the Russian national team because of political issues. It's about family circumstances, but I don't want to go into details," Dzyuba, Russia's captain and most high profile player, told Russia's Sport-Express daily on Tuesday.

"It seems to me that there was a misunderstanding. Coach Valery Georgievich Karpin misunderstood me, or his words were misinterpreted," said the Zenit St. Petersburg forward.

Earlier Tuesday, Russian national team head coach Karpin said on the Russian Football Union’s website that he spoke over the phone with Dzyuba on Sunday and that the 33-year-old asked not to be called up to Russia’s training camp due to the difficult situation in Ukraine, where many of his relatives live.

"We had a good talk, decided not to pick him, but will stay in touch and monitor his club performances," Karpin added.

A former Spartak Moscow forward, Dzyuba has scored 107 goals in 240 appearances for Zenit.

For the Russian national team, he amassed 55 international caps to score 30 goals.

Dzyuba is currently Russia's joint top scorer with Aleksandr Kerzhakov, who retired from the game in 2017.

Zenit regular Dzyuba represented Russia in the 2018 FIFA World Cup and the EURO 2016 and 2020 tournaments.

The Russia-Ukraine war, which began on Feb. 24, has drawn international condemnation, led to financial sanctions on Moscow and spurred an exodus of global firms from Russia.

At least 691 civilians have been killed and 1,143 injured in Ukraine since the beginning of the war.

More than 3 million refugees have fled to neighboring countries, according to the UN.

*Writing by Can Erozden