ZUBOV WILL NOT GO TO VANCOUVER AS A SUB

The 39-year old defender of SKA, the best scorer of the defensive line in KHL regular championship, Sergey Zubov, made a sensational statement.


"The administrator of the national team has just called me and said that I am included into the list of substitutions for the Olympics," started Zubov his speech. "I actually did not know what to say. The situation surprised me a lot."

"And before this I was amazed and even offended by the words of the president of the Russian Hockey Federation Vladislav Tretyak and the head coach of the national team Vyacheslav Bykov uttered in an interview: that to get to the national squad one must gnaw the ice and they would not take you for your previous merits."

"All these statements have extremely disappointed me. This is humiliation of me as a personality and a sportsman. I do not owe anything to anyone and I have honestly earned my name in ice hockey!"

"I am not 25 years old and have proved my high level with seventeen seasons in NHL. I am not going to prove anything anymore."

"If there is a place for me in the reserves only I regard it as a spit in my face. I wanted to play for the national team very much but unfortunately I will not."

"I want to apologize to our supporters. I think they will understand me. And I wish good luck to our guys in Vancouver."

… In November Zubov was capped to Novogorsk before the Carjala Cup but he did not arrive to the national team referring to the injury. Moreover he did not phone personally the coaches and thus caused discontent of Vyacheslav Bykov and Igor Zakharkin.

Then Zubov was not called up for the Moscow First Channel Cup held in December and many people thought that happened due to non-hockey reasons.

As a result the widely known veteran did not get to the national squad – the list of 23 for the Olympics. According to recent information Zubov and other five players constitute the list of the main reserves and are to go to Vancouver on 11 February.

The head coach of the Russian team Vyacheslav Bykov was very much disappointed with the statement of the defender.

"To tell you the truth I do not really want to comment on Zubov’s statement," sighed the coach of Salavat Yulaev. "There are only three weeks left till the start of the main tournament of the four years and we do not need scandals now."

"The national team needs something different – unity, support and interest. So after all we know the position of Zubov now and we are going further."

"I was obviously shocked with his words. For if we did not reckon upon this master we would not have included him on the list."

"There will be no sanctions! We said in advance that those people who wish and dream of playing for the national team would go to Vancouver as subs. And those fro whom squad and Olympics are not on the first place would have the right to decline. Everything gets what he wants."

"This list of reserves is not official yet. It will so to say come into force on 1 February only when we introduce it into the Russian Olympic Committee."

"And I repeat there will be no forced people on the list. From this standpoint it is not so dramatic that one player refused – despite the form he chose."

"The most unpleasant thing in this situation is that Sergey has not got in touch with us during the time he is playing in Russia. We tried to contact him, invited for one stage of the Eurotour but we did not get an answer."

"And now I think he could have solved his problems without the press. He could have phoned one of the coaches, explained the situation. But that never happened. I do not think the national team deserves such attitude."