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.
