On December 1, Russian media reported that Andrey Kanchelskis, the former head coach of Namangan’s FC Navbakhor, had been threatened by unknown individuals. According to the expert, the perpetrators threatened to reduce the demand for 1.6 million euros from the Uzbek club through FIFA, threatening to cripple him. This controversial situation is becoming a major event in the life of Russian football.

What did happen in fact?

In 2020, Kanchelskis left the Namangan’s club after a salary arrears. Shortly afterwards, he appealed to FIFA, which ordered Navbakhor to pay a total of 1.6 million euros in compensation and debt in favor of the Russian coach.

On the evening of November 22, Kanchelskis, who was eating at the Oasis restaurant in Moscow, was approached by three unidentified individuals who asked him if he had worked in Uzbekistan and was offered to pay him $80,000. Earlier, the president of FC Navbakhor asked Kanchelskis to put an end to the issue with the same amount of money.

“You sued. You can’t get anything anymore! If you do not agree to this amount ($80,000), you will be disabled for life. We will break your leg and you will be using a wheelchair,” the Telegram channel “Mutko Protiv” quoted one of the suspects as saying.

The former coach of Navbakhor contacted the police after receiving threats. Allegedly, Kanchelskis has been observed for a long time. According to restaurant workers, these individuals have been here several times before and have been looking for the Russian coach here.

Kanchelskis recounted the incident in an interview with “SE”.

“It is true that we appealed to the police. But it is interesting how this information appeared in the media. It is not clear to me how our organs work. All threats will be reported to FIFA and UEFA. We need to take this work seriously now. What we have received from the police so far is that this information was spread unexpectedly, there was no other reaction. I think there will be more information soon. I want to find these people as soon as possible and a legal action should be taken against them.

It is noted that the police may have information on suspects. Because some of the unknown individuals took off their masks when they left the restaurant and were captured by the surveillance camera. Police also tracked the address of some of those who threatened Kanchelskis. According to lawyers, the suspects could face up to 15 years in prison.

Why might Kanchelskis have been threatened?

The Russian specialist was appointed head coach of FC Navbakhor 7 rounds before the end of the 2018 Super League. At the end of the season, the team won bronze medals under Kanchelskis, but in the 2019 season, the team was unsuccessful – ranked 9th out of 14 clubs.

In June 2019, Kanchelskis resigned. But two months later, he was reinstated as head coach and signed a three-year contract. A year later, in October 2020, Kanchelskis again left the team. This time the payroll was delayed for half a year and the debt was incurred.

In the end, he terminated his contract and sent a complaint to FIFA about the Namangani club. At the same time, Navbakhor’s leadership was severely criticized.

“My objections are only to the club leadership. When it comes to football amateurs, such problems always arise. If they are ready for open communication, I am ready for that too. Otherwise there will be a trial. There are documents, everything will be decided by the football federation,” Kanchelskis told Sport24.

After that conversation, I was not chased. Very unpleasant situation. Is there fear? Of course, yes. But what should I do now, should I be locked up at home? I live and work in my normal life. Everything is as planned. If anything else happens, we will appeal to law enforcement agencies,” the Russian edition Sport24 quoted the former head coach of Navbakhor as saying.

“Reports about Kanchelskis may be fabricated against the club” – Navbakhor

Navbakhor has issued an official statement regarding the incident with Andrey Kanchelskis and media reports.

“On December 1, the spread of information in most Russian and domestic sports publications and social networks that “Russian coach Andrey Kanchelskis was threatened by unknown people and the expert reported the matter to the police” was received differently by the football community in our country. It even caused some people to have inappropriate doubts and misconceptions, which caused concern among many Navbakhor fans.

In this regard, the professional football club Navbakhor announces that in August of this year, PFC Navbakhor appealed to the International Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against the decision of FIFA “... to pay Andrei Kanchelskis $1.6 million in compensation ...”. In this process, foreign lawyers and specialists have been involved as additional forces and assistance. It should be noted that in this process, the evidence presented to the CAS by PFC Navbakhor will allow to win the case.

Judging by the situation, the dissemination of such information about Andrey Kanchelskis on the Internet and on social networks could be a fabrication and slander of the Russian expert to justify himself in the future at CAS. In turn, it should be taken into account that there may be fabrications and slanders against PFC Navbakhor.

However, PFC Navbahor and the lawyers representing the club were aware of the incident long ago. When lawyers of Andrey Kanchelskis contacted lawyers of PFC Navbakhor about the incident, PFC Navbahor stated that it was not aware of the incident but was ready to help in any way,” the club’s report reads.
 
In its statement, the club also told fans that linking the news to the club’s name could seriously damage Navbakhor’s reputation in the eyes of the national and international football community.

“Dear football fans! It is no secret that PFC Navbakhor is preparing for the new 2022 season with big goals. Under the leadership of the club’s leadership, a large-scale work is being carried out to further increase the competitiveness of the team, to develop the Navbakhor brand and raise it to world standards. In short, at a time when PFC Navbakhor is boldly pursuing its noble goals, it should be borne in mind that linking all the information spread on the Internet and social networks with the name of the club can seriously damage the reputation of PFC Navbakhor in the eyes of domestic and foreign football community.

It should be noted that our club is trying to take a legally correct approach to any incident involving PFC Navbahor, to resolve existing issues in a legal manner, and will continue to do so,” the club said in its statement.