Italian assistant coaches did not come to the Russian team's training camp due to "contractual differences"

In the preparation of the Russian national team for the 2016 European Championship qualifying match against the Austrian team, which will be held on November 15 in Vienna, two Italian assistants of Fabio Capello - Christian Panucci and Massimo Neri - do not take part. They are missing due to “contractual differences.”

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Head coach of the Russian national football team Fabio Capello

Photo: Kommersant / Dmitry Lebedev / buy photo

Russian national football team coach Christian Panucci (right)

Photo: Kommersant / Dmitry Korotaev / buy photo

The absence of Fabio Capello's two Italian assistants became noticeable during the first open training session of the Russian national team in preparation for the European Championship qualifying match against the Austrian team. Christian Panucci and Massimo Neri, who was responsible for physical training, did not attend the team meeting. The press service of the Russian national team reported that both foreign specialists were absent due to “contractual disagreements” and that the functions of a fitness trainer were performed by Alexander Goncharov. Fabio Capello was not left completely without assistants: after the World Cup, the headquarters of the Russian national team was replenished by two Zenit coaches - Sergei Semak and Igor Simutenkov, who knows Italian.

General Director of the Russian Football Union (RFU) Alexander Alaev told TASS that Messrs. Panucci and Neri are no longer bound by contractual obligations with the RFU. “The employment agreements with Panucci and Neri expired in July, after the World Cup,” said Mr. Alaev. “After the World Championship, they were offered new contracts under certain conditions. Italian specialists are absent from the training camp due to the fact that the terms of new contracts have not yet been agreed upon. There is no labor relationship between them and the RFU, and therefore there can be no talk of non-payment of wages to them. They participated in the training camps, which took place in September and October, on a temporary basis. Moreover, I would like to note that today the RFU fulfilled all obligations to the team’s players, coaching staff, and service personnel for previously held matches. At the moment, only Fabio Capello and Oreste Cinquini remain in arrears."

Earlier, RFU President Nikolai Tolstykh stated that the union does not have the money to fulfill its contractual obligations to Fabio Capello. The RFU believes that they are in a “financial blockade”, since the federation is having great difficulty attracting new sponsors. Among the latest major contracts, it is worth noting agreements with the gas company NOVATEK and the Chinese electronics manufacturer Huawei. RFU employees believe that many companies are secretly prohibited from financing the federation. However, opponents of Nikolai Tolstoy believe that potential investors are scared off by the authoritarian style of government of the RFU president.

In his latest interviews, Nikolai Tolstykh hinted that the structures responsible for signing the contract with Fabio Capello and taking on his financial support are not fulfilling their obligations. Let us recall that the conclusion of the agreement with Capello was initiated by the Minister of Sports Vitaly Mutko, who was more than once indignant at the fact that the RFU did not have the funds to pay the famous specialist.

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Fabio Capello was left without assistants