Thursday, 28, March, 2024

Former Uzbekistan head coach Samvel Babayan is banned for life from all football related activity. The decision was taken by the executive committee of the Uzbekistan Football Federation (UFF) on Monday, UFF said in a statement.

When Samvel Babayan learned that a new leadership was coming to the team, he illegally altered the expiry dates of the players contracts, from 2018 to 2017 during his reign at Pakhtakor FC, the statement said.

"His main goal was to make money by selling players, who in the end of the year would become free agents."

"He also failed to deliver as the national team coach by putting personal interests above those of the national side. The prejudiced attitude towards the players negatively affected the atmosphere in the team. When selecting players for the team, Samvel Babayan opted for players he was familiar with and ignored advise from experienced coaches and experts", the statement added.

"It's hard to justify the fact that some players who, despite the poor form, constantly got calls for the national team. Especially when such actions had a negative impact on the results, "the statement stressed.

The Football Federation said it would conduct thorough checks of the activities of each and every football coach and take appropriate measures.

Earlier, UFF had revoked the coaching license of the Neftchi head coach Vadim Abramov for an indefinite period.

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