Shakhtar FC terminates contract with player Rosputko, who fled to Russia

This is stated in a message on the club's website.

"In connection with the failure to return to the team and actual refusal to fulfil the obligations under the contract, FC Shakhtar terminated the contract with footballer Oleksandr Rosputko," the statement reads.

Context

After the UEFA Youth League match between Antwerp and Shakhtar Donetsk, there was a sudden absence of 19-year-old midfielder Oleksandr Rosputko from the plane that was scheduled to return home.

A search for the player was promptly launched. However, only the player's neatly folded uniform was found at the airport. The midfielder deleted all his social media accounts and stopped answering phone calls.

Brutal Football and the editor-in-chief of Profootball Digital, Volodymyr Zvierov, shared information that Oleksandr Rosputko was in Russia.

Following this incident, Zvezda Club from St. Petersburg, which had been linked to the player, issued an official statement regarding Rosputko. According to the statement, he had reportedly sought political asylum.

Later, the player's father, Yuriy Rosputko, confirmed that his son had fled to Russia. He denied the information about the request for political asylum, noting that the boy would get a Russian passport instead.

"He will definitely be safer in Russia," the footballer's father assured.