The head coach of the Kaliningrad Lokomotiv Andrey Voronkov should be held responsible for an incorrect statement during the final match of the Russian championship against Uralochka-NTMK, said the head coach of the club from the Sverdlovsk region Nikolai Karpol.

The decisive meeting took place on May 12 and ended with the victory of Lokomotiv in five sets. During the time-out, Voronkov gave instructions to the players and pulled Valeria Zaitseva aside, addressing whom he said: “Why are you catching this monkey again?” The phrase hit the air “Match TV”. Uralochka-NTMK is represented by a dark-skinned Cuban player Ailama Sese Montalvo.

— I didn’t hear it, I was in the game with my team. Since this really happened and it is on video, it is very bad. In any case, you need to apologize. What the VVF (All-Russian Volleyball Federation) will do, I do not know, but it must take some measures. Maybe a disqualification or some other measures, let the federation think about it, ”the Match TV website quotes Karpol as saying.

Uralochka-NTMK General Director Valentina Ogienko called the situation an “international scandal”, noting that Voronkov’s apology to Montalvo should be public.

– Surely this broadcast was watched in Cuba, the leaders of the local volleyball federation – one hundred percent. You can’t miss this. The WFV should sort this out. It is also impossible to miss this for the Lokomotiv team, the club management and not only the club. Andrei Voronkov must officially apologize to Ailama. Even if not in front of us, but in front of the girl. This should happen publicly, just as it was publicly throughout the country,” Ogiyenko noted.

Deputy Director General of the All-Russian Volleyball Federation (VVF) Mikhail Podlozny suggested that the organization’s disciplinary commission might look into the incident.

– Will the VFV take action? So far I have no such information, unfortunately. In the broadcast yesterday, I heard “catching someone”, I didn’t hear more specifically. If this information is confirmed, we will, of course, analyze this point. Do you remember the recent case when we disqualified the head coach of Proton Yuri Marichev for a certain gesture, which was applied for by the match inspector. And the disciplinary commission of the VFV punished Marichev with a disqualification for 3 matches and a suspended sentence for 2 years.

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If everything happened with Voronkov as you say, this is a rather unpleasant incident. I think the disciplinary commission will consider this incident,” Podlozny said.