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Six South American soccer players are refusing to return to Ukraine following a 4-1 defeat in a friendly versus Lyon in France.
The Shakhtar Donetsk players stayed in France following the match after they had personal security concerns following the current conflict in Ukraine. But Shakhtar manager Mircea Lucescu, says that the issue isn’t about security, but about agent Kia Joorabchian, as he represents all six players who have gone AWOL.
Is Shakhtar Donetsk really making a stink about foreign players refusing to report to a town ensnared in a civil war, controlled by rebels?
— LeanderLastNameNoFit (@LeanderOnFOX) July 21, 2014
The players missing are Brazilians Alex Teixeira, Douglas Costa, Ismaily, Fred and Dentinho, and Argentine striker Facundo Ferreyra.
Lucescu also believes the agent is behind the absence of his players, telling them that they will be able to sign contracts with different teams.
But can you blame them? The Ukrainian military is attempting to retake the city of Donetsk in the eastern part of of the country, which is controlled by pro-Russian rebels and the team doesn’t even know where their home games are going to be played. But the club insists the absence is Joorabchian’s doing.
"It is not players’ desire, it’s their agents’ work", - Mircea #Lucescu commented on the escape of six players - http://t.co/x2YRFJRvUW
— FC SHAKHTAR ENGLISH (@shakhtar_eng) July 21, 2014
On the club’s official site Lucescu continued, “A few hours before the kick-off of the match against Lyon, Kia showed up, and after the game, at two in the morning, he took our players away. His goal is to make the players free agents, just to make money. This is wrong. This is his alibi. He wants to make use of the situation in the country and get the players for free, but they have contracts.”
FIFA rules say that if a player violates their contract they can be suspended for four months with clubs facing one-year transfer embargoes. Billionaire owner and richest man in Ukraine Rinat Akhmetov said that if the players don’t return that they will suffer.
The crash site of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17. (Photo:@IrishMFA | Twitter)
The Malaysia Airlines flight came down about 35 miles from Donetsk, and Akhmetov promised safety and security. “Hopefully, the mind and heart will prevail over misunderstanding, and the players will not follow temptation and fear," he said. "Especially since there is nothing to fear. We are ready to provide security. We will not take risks and in any case we won't bring players to dangerous places.”
The new season is scheduled to start on July 26th, and Teixeria, Douglas and Fred are some of the team's most important players. The team is scheduled to play against Dynamo Kiev in a Ukrainian Super Cup bout tomorrow in Lviv and it will be interesting to see if this mess is sorted out by then.
