The Sochi coach believes that in the event of a transfer to Chelsea, Zakharyan would be forced to change citizenship

Sochi head coach Vadim Garanin shared his opinion on the possible transfer of Dynamo midfielder Arsen Zakharyan to London Chelsea.

This summer, the midfielder did not move to Chelsea, as the English club was unable to complete the transaction for the player due to sanctions. In parallel with the negotiations, the football community discussed the possibility of changing Zakharyan’s citizenship from Russian to Armenian.

– Despite all the bans, Zakharyan could recently go to England. Do you think they could ask him to change his citizenship to Armenian in this case?

– I think they could start to put pressure on the ear. Everyone has their own truth, of course. But I communicate with foreigners who work in Russia and have families somewhere in France. They say to me: “Vadim, there is some kind of obscurantism there.” In Europe they make us beasts. Therefore, I do not rule out that they could force Zakharyan to change his citizenship. It’s not just that athletes are told to renounce the country so that they can participate in competitions, RB Sport quoted Garanin as saying.