Ukrainian revolt in Girona's dressing room

GironaGirona has a mess in the locker room. “Tsygankov was fine and called up, but he refused to change. That's all I can say,” admitted Quique Álvarez minutes after the draw against Leganés. To the already known situation of the winger, who made it very clear at the beginning of the summer that he did not want to play in the Second Division and went directly to the stands, the rumors of Vladyslav Vanat's refusal to participate in the second half were added, who was indeed on the bench. Information that the footballer himself has denied to the Ukrainian media Tribuna.com. The club, when consulted by ARA, denies that the striker rejected it, while it has already made official the opening of a disciplinary proceeding against Tsygankov for actions that "may constitute a breach of his contractual obligations and do not conform to the standards of conduct required by the entity". The mess is a big one.

You don't have to look far to find a precedent fueled by Girona itself last season. It's about goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic, who didn't want to play because he felt deceived and wanted to leave Montilivi. The Croatian, who needed continuity to compete in the World Cup, hinted that he had been promised a starting position that never materialized. And, since he had already played a match with Fenerbahçe before arriving at Girona, if he had played even a single second, he wouldn't have been able to play for a third team, as the regulations prevent it. There was no punishment for the goalkeeper, who lowered his level in training, causing more than one discomfort, and he ended up packing his bags in the winter to be a starter for Croatia in the summer.

Livakovic's precedent

The most radical case of all is that of Tsygankov, who has not played a single minute during pre-season because he does not want to wear the white-and-red shirt for one more minute. Hours before the league debut, with the players arriving at the stadium, Quique Álvarez, who was making his debut on the bench, asked him to change like the rest of the called-up and available teammates. The Ukrainian replied that he did not intend to do so and left the dressing room to follow the match from the stands, where he was seen to be very focused on his phone. When the scoreboard caught him, he received a huge boo. The coach denounced his attitude at the end of the match and some of his still teammates became considerably annoyed with the decision, which they did not take well at all.

Tsygankov's entourage had already warned at the beginning of June that the footballer wanted to move on. He did so by leaking a letter that the player had supposedly sent to the club, in which he stated that "my sporting future is hardly compatible with the club's project". He also added that he would facilitate finding the best possible agreement for all parties and that, whatever happened, he would not rebel. Given his behaviour, he was lying. In the last few hours, the winger has posted several Instagram stories in which he asked Girona for permission to give an interview and received a warning from the club that he could not give any without the entity's authorization. Four stories that end with a final one in which a hand appears covering a mouth and where it can be read "I will speak one day".

The player has engaged in a power struggle with the club and is trying to force a departure at all costs, but it is not easy. Throughout the summer he has been linked with many teams, including Espanyol, Ajax, Valencia, and Celta. Some have started talks at Montilivi, like Celta, but between Girona's demands, which are asking for a figure that could range between 10 and 15 million (50% will go to Dynamo Kyiv) and Tsygankov's demands, who has a very high salary, there has been no understanding.

Messages in the early morning and a spat

The newspaper As goes further and publishes that the Ukrainian's discontent with Girona is due to the fact that the club has indeed reached agreements with the Turkish Trabzonspor or New York City without the player's permission, who would only want to continue in Spain or move to England. The same information points out that he is hurt because some of the clauses in his contract have not been met; he assures that he was offended to receive the notification of the call-up at 12 at night the previous day, and that when the match ended, Tsygankov and a member of the coaching staff had a scuffle.

The other notable name of the night, Vladyslav Vanat, on the other hand, has acted normally during the summer. In fact, the forward has been the top scorer in pre-season and the club's intention is none other than to make him one of their standard-bearers in the fight for promotion back to the First Division. Until now, Vanat had not shown signs of a possible departure. But, even though he warmed up with the score against them, various reports indicated that he would have refused to play.

Girona denies this with complete certainty and confirms that, although it did seem like something had happened, it is just a misunderstanding, without giving further details. During training this Monday at the Ciutat Esportiva, Vanat and the club have clarified the situation and there is no case. The player himself has also denied the facts. “I was supposed to come in as a substitute, but at that moment our central defender [Junior] got injured and had to be replaced. The coach had to change his decision,” Vanat clarified to the Ukrainian media Tribuna.com, where he emphasized his professionalism.

What is obvious is that Tsygankov committed an act of indiscipline. And also that it is better for the club's top officials to start taking measures and expedite departures, before more time bombs explode.