Russia's captain Artem Dzyuba has rejected a call-up to the national team, citing the "difficult situation in Ukraine " as the reason behind his decision.
It comes after Dzyuba was branded a "b****" by Everton and Ukraine star Vitaliy Mykolenko, who blasted the Zenit St. Petersburg striker for failing to condemn his country's bloody invasion. Dzyuba hit back earlier this month in an impassioned post, explaining how he stayed silent due to not being "a political expert".
Russia manager Valeri Karpin has now revealed the 33-year-old has turned down the chance to meet up with his international colleagues after arranging a training camp and friendly match against the under-21s. "Due to the difficult situation in Ukraine, where he has many relatives, he apologised and asked not to call him up for this training camp," Karpin said.
Russia have been booted out of qualifying for the 2022 World Cup, handing play-off opponents Poland a bye into the next round of fixtures. FIFA had originally stopped short of banning Russia from playing completely, instead ordering them to compete with a number of restrictions, before handing down a more severe punishment after facing backlash.
Karpin wanted to use the international break to bring his squad together, but Dzyuba will play no part in their arrangements. Russia are still in the process of lodging an appeal against their expulsion from the World Cup.
Dzyuba's previous war of words with Mykolenko may have played some part in his decision as Ukraine continues to be ravaged by the Russian invasion. More than 600 civilians have been killed in the conflict and over 1,000 Ukrainian soldiers.
Everton star Mykolenko had taken to Instagram earlier this month to slam Dzyuba's lack of communication, writing: "Whilst you remain silent b**** along with your s***head football teammates, peaceful civilians are being killed in Ukraine. You will be locked in your dungeon for the rest of your life and most importantly the lives of your kids. And I'm glad."
Dzyuba responded the following day by writing a post of his own, which read: "Until recently, I did not want to talk about the events in Ukraine. Not because I'm scared, but because I'm not a political expert. But I have an idea, just like everybody else. I'm against all forms of war. War is scary.
"I am against war, but I am also against discrimination based on nationality. I'm not ashamed to be Russian. I'm proud to be Russian. Why does everyone want politics to be outside of football, but forget this when it comes to Russia?
"I repeat, war is scary. In stressful situations, people show their true essence, sometimes negative. How much anger, dirt and bile has now been poured on all Russian people, regardless of their position and profession? The war will end but human relations will remain. And it will be impossible to rewind back. Keep this in mind."
Other Premier League stars have been critical of Russia, including Manchester City's Oleksandr Zinchenko and West Ham's Andriy Yarmolenko. The pair came together recently to record a heartfelt video message calling for peace and support.
“We appeal to the football community. To everyone who is united in the game of football, every fan, every player, every coach, every manager, everyone who understands and loves football. We love football. We appeal to you," they said.
“To explain to the whole world and to show to every inhabitant on planet earth that under the cover of special operation Russian troops are waging an open war on Ukraine. They are bombarding residential areas with missiles and are bombing civilians.
“We call everyone who hears us to resist this war to stop the destruction and bloodshed. We ask all world football community to oppose Russian propaganda. To show the truth and tell the truth about this war in Ukraine by all possible resources. We thank everyone who has already done this and everyone who will support us."
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