The head coach of the Ukrainian national team, Serhiy Rebrov, commented on the situation regarding the positive doping test of Chelsea winger Mykhailo Mudryk.
Serhiy Rebrov— The situation with the positive doping test of Mykhailo Mudryk. Have you communicated with him yet? Do you understand the circumstances, considering he took this test after national team matches?
— Yes, I spoke with him. Each player is very important to us, and Mykhailo is very upset about this. I don’t want to go into details. Right now, there is nothing official.
Our position is: we will support the player, we will fight for him. And I only wish Mykhailo patience, so he truly understands that we support him and will do everything to minimize this period, because he is a very important player for the Ukrainian national team.
— What impact will this have on the national team if there is a punishment?
— I say again — each player of the Ukrainian national team is very important to us.
— This year, there have been several reports in the press about conflicts within the team. Let’s remember the dispute between Mudryk and Shaparenko over the playing number. Any insider information about tension between you and Oleksandr Zinchenko? How would you characterize the microclimate in the team and how you influence it?
— How do I characterize it? You know, journalists, when there are no results they expect, look for problems. There is something wrong there, or a problem with the number. I didn’t even know about this number problem, but when I asked the players, they replied: "We are adults, we’ve settled everything." There is no such problem. Compared to what is happening in our country, this is nothing at all.
There are no conflicts, there are demands on each player. In any case, 11 players go out on the field. Players who do not go out on the field — well, there are some grievances. But I always tell the players: "Grievances may exist, you can sit and not talk to the coach, but when you go out to train with your partners or to play — for five minutes, for two — in the national team's squad, everyone forgets about all that."
A football team is a family. There are always someone who is offended about something. But I don’t see at all that players create any problems for the existence of the national team, or that there are any misunderstandings within the team. I don’t see this. If journalists see this — let them tell, let them take the players, lead them to a lie detector, let them speak.
I am very pleased with all the players who come to the national team's camp. The Ukrainian national team, like any organism, is functioning. There are some problems, but I am pleased with the microclimate that currently exists in the team.
Mykola Reshnyuk
