"It will be suicide": Russian national team coach assesses return to international football

The head coach of the Russian national team, Valery Karpin, considers it inappropriate for the team to participate in the first Central Asian Football Association (CAFA) championship. According to the expert, the international tournament, which is scheduled for the first half of June, does not fit into the calendar, and will also take place in difficult weather conditions.

Karpin said this in an interview with the Fabrika Futbol ("Фабрика футбола") YouTube channel. He called it literally suicide for the Russian national team to travel to Tashkent and Bishkek, and also complained about the quality of the pitches in Central Asia.

"There is such an invitation. Would I like to go? On the one hand, yes. On the other hand, it will take place in June. It will be hot there. On June 3, our championship ends, and on June 9, theirs begins. That is, all the players have no holidays. Plus, what kind of pitches will be there in this heat. We have just been to Central Asia, and the pitches there were not of the best quality, to put it mildly. And if it is hot and the pitches are completely dry, it will be suicide. Take the players from their holidays and bring them back injured - 7-8 people... And on these pitches, they can get injured easily. We have to think," Karpin said.

It should be noted that in addition to Russia, Tajikistan, Iran, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and an unnamed Asian team are to play at CAFA 2023. The results of the games will go into the world rankings.

As OBOZREVATEL previously reported, the European Football Union (UEFA) reacted to the decision of the Russian national team to participate in the CAFA Championship.

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