The Armenian Genocide Creates Problems at Spartak Moscow

After nine months on the sideline due to an ACL injury, Spartak Moscow’s Armenian winger Aras Özbiliz returned to the normal training schedule in March this year. Özbiliz went through a surgery in September and at the end of November last year he finally returned to the training pitch to start his rehabilitation. Despite the good news, Özbiliz’s first time on the training pitch not been a success. In an interview with the Russian sports paper Sport-Express Özbiliz expressed his frustrations with the situation: “According to the official information, I am still injured. Everyone thinks so because the club tells them so. In fact, I feel well and I am 100 percent ready. More than a month ago I finished working with the physical fitness coach Javier [Noya].”

Özbiliz’s last practice with Spartak’s first team was on Friday the 17^th of April, the day before the club played an away match against Mordovia in Saransk, a match Spartak won 3-1 without the Armenian in the squad. After that result Spartak’s Swiss-born coach Murat Yakin gave the players three days off, while him and his assistants travelled to Switzerland. According to Özbiliz this meant he had to work out in the gym without touching a ball, since there were no coaches available to take care of him.

When Yakin and the rest of the players returned from their brief holiday, Özbiliz returned to training and, for the first time in a year, he participated in both of Spartak’s two daily training sessions. Özbiliz did however feel tired in his healthy knee, and two days later Yakin told the coaching and medical staff that Özbiliz was still injured and not ready to play, something that surprised Özbiliz who had passed all his medical checks during his rehabilitation.

“It would be funny if it weren’t so sad. I don’t want to play for a club lead by a coach who treats me like that and does not want me to train and play. I worked hard for a year and recuperated, I was counting the days to appear on the pitch, but they don’t let me do so,” Özbiliz stated to Sport-Express.

Then on the 24^th of April, the Memorial Day for the Armenian Genocide, Yakin, who has Turkish parents, told Özbiliz that he was demoted to Spartak-2, something that surprised both Özbiliz and the rest of the squad:

“Many players don’t understand what’s going on in the team. They can’t believe it. They want to know the reason but I have no answer yet. Maybe it is because I am Armenian and the coach is Turkish?”

Asked about his countryman Yura Movsisyan’s situation, Özbiliz wondered Yakin turned Movsisyan from one of the league’s best strikers into a reserve player. Movsisyan himself has been involved in some controversies, since he said that Spartak played better football under the previous coach Valery Karpin.

Following the controversial interview Spartak fined Özbiliz for speaking with a journalist without the clubs permission. The next day Özbiliz withdrew his statements, saying he was shocked when he read the interview: “I was born in Turkey, where my relatives live. I speak Turkish, including with Murat Yakin. I have many Turkish friends; that is why there can’t be any ethnic problems here.”

On the social media Instagram he elaborated his statement, where he wrote: “Stop using me and my name for political issues. I just want to play football.”

For this to happen, Özbiliz will most likely be forced to leave Moscow and find a new club. According to Izvestia has Spartak’s owner Leonid Fedun ordered his staff to find new clubs for both Movsisyan and Özbiliz, and they are apparently open for all offers on the two rebels.

Yura Movsisyan extended his contract with the Red-Whites in February, but his future at Spartak is now questionable. Fedun has personally picked Yakin as his coach, and despite the shaky performances he still backs his Swiss head coach. Movsisyan has earlier been linked with big clubs like Liverpool and Wolfsburg, and several clubs will be following the 27 year old strikers situation closely. Özbiliz’ situation is more difficult since he has not played a single minute this season. He is however still an insteresting player, which is proved by the interest Manchester United showed in him last spring.

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