It is difficult to say what is the significance of the following communication by the great Ukrainian champion, which is accompanied by the above image of a rather dirty Ukrainian flag. Posted a few minutes ago on VK.com, it hints at changes to come, especially in the context of his compatriot, Oleg Stepko's, recent migration to Azerbaijan. I am posting Igor's words here both in Russian and English, in order to give Russian speakers the opportunity to comment, and iron out any possible inaccuracies or loss of nuance in the translation.
I would like to say - good luck, Oleg!
'Кого интересует мой переход под другие цвета флага .
Да этот вопрос сейчас решается но пока что я защищаю цвета своей страны.
Я думаю в скором времени все будет решено !
If you are interested in my transition to other colours of the flag.
Yes, this issue is now solved but so far I am defending the colors of his country.
I think soon everything will be decided!'
Updated 23.50 14th March
Nico Jackson, resourceful as ever, has found some information to contextualise what Oleg Verniaiev has said, in particular an interview with a Ukrainian national coach Aleksandr Gorin on an Azerbaijani news site : http://www.1news.az/sport/gymnastics/20140313082626337.html
There is also some more information on Oleg Stepko's decision to leave Ukraine.
Nico summarises :
As to whether Oleg (Verniaiev) is migrating to Azerbaijan, it seems to depend on who you ask. On the one hand, they're saying negotiations with Verniaiev - and Radivilov - have taken place, but on the other hand, there's nothing official about either having taken a decision. (In another media source, it says that Yevgeny Moskvin (former coach of Valery Goncharov, working now as the head coach of Azerbaijan's men's national team) has recruited Oleg Verniaiev AND Igor Radivilov to Azerbaijan also.)
Aleksandr Gorin says there was a long debate over letting Oleg Stepko and his coach go to Azerbaijan. Of course, everyone initially refused. However, they voted and agreed to let him go with some sort of compensation ($10,000 supposedly).
Stepko and Netreba (Stepko 's coach) decided to go to Azerbaijan because they felt there was no living to be made as an athlete and coach in Ukraine. The Ukrainian Gymnastics Federation and sports ministry weren't enough to help in that regard.
Gorin certainly seems to be very upset at Stepko and his coach for leaving. He's also very angry with the committee that voted to let him go and doesn't understand why their Olympic Committee didn't block the move.
Oops, Nico here!
ReplyDeleteI'd like to clarify that there's no certainty with regard to Verniaiev and Radivilov to Azerbaijan. It's been discussed, but no one (neither the athletes nor the Ukrainian or Azerbaijan Gymnastics Federation) has confirmed anything yet. It seems to be ongoing, but I reckon we'll known soon enough. The story is developing fast and constantly changing.
For Russian speakers of this blog, please feel free to correct or clarify in the comments. Russian is a foreign language for me, so it's always possible I might've misunderstood some things. It's a lot of information as you can see from the links above.
everyone's exploiting Ukraine. Azerbaijan, Russia...
ReplyDelete