Oleh Blokhin is asking $3.65 million in compensation from the team where he became a global soccer legend. The 1975 Golden Ball winner on July 10 filed a claim with the dispute resolution chamber of Ukraine’s soccer governing body that alleges he was wrongfully sacked as coach of Dynamo Kyiv.
Seen by the Kyiv Post, the three-page
claim alleges that Blokhin’s contract was “unjustly revoked” after April 16 –
the day that Dynamo lost 2-0 to archrival Shakhtar Donetsk. A statement published on the soccer team’s website on April
16 read: “FC Dynamo Kyiv president Ihor Surkis has decided to fire the
head coach Oleh Blokhin for unsatisfactory results demonstrated by the team.”
The team finished fourth in the domestic
league this year, but won the Ukraine Cup in May with a 2-1 victory over
Shakhtar.
Thus, he is demanding the remainder of
his salary for the duration of his contract which was supposed to expire on
Sept. 25, 2016. Based on his $1.5 million annual salary, the total amount he is
claiming as compensation is $3,653,767.12.
It was submitted by lawyer Ilya
Skoropashkin. When reached by telephone, Blokhin refrained from commenting on
the dispute. Dynamo vice-president and press department head Olexiy Semenenko
was not immediately available for comment.
It will be heard by the Football
Federation of Ukraine’s Dispute Resolution Chamber. Under the chamber’s rules,
Dynamo will have the chance to present its case as the defendant, which
includes the submission of evidence. Witnesses, such as club president Surkis
may be called in for questioning. The chamber may also seek further evidence if
something is unclear, and the chamber may hold an oral hearing on the case if
it wishes.
In his first attempt after being hired as
head coach on Sept. 25, 2012, Dynamo finished in third place, the first time it
missed out on of the top two spots since the Soviet Union fell apart. To make
the transition, Blokhin, 61, quit as national team coach, perceived as the most
prestigious coaching job in the nation.
“The
news that Oleh Blokhin was taking over at Dynamo Kyiv and leaving the national
team was unexpected and shocked us,” Ukraine’s football federation
president Anatoliy Konkov told reporters when the news emerged. “All our
efforts were aimed at creating the best conditions for the national side. And
this development surprised and upset us.”
Blokhin won the European Cup Winners Cup
with Dynamo in 1975 and 1986. He won eight Soviet titles with the team in the
1970s and 1980s and coached Ukraine to the 2006 World Cup quarterfinals, but
could not advance past the group stage at home in the 2012 European soccer
championship.
Kyiv Post editor Mark Rachkevych can be reached at [email protected].
