Should they punish me for going to Armenian national football squad? – Mikhail Markosov

Armenian national football team and Russia’s FC Ufa striker Mikhail Markosov suspects that he is being punished for accepting an invitation from the Armenian national squad. 

The Russian Football Union Disciplinary Committee extended Markosov’s suspension to six games for his collision with FC Sibir Novosibirsk goalkeeper Ilya Trunin. The Armenian international, however, does not consider himself to be at fault, and notes that he had not seen the goalkeeper before the collision, Sportbox reports.        

“The replay shows that they were hitting me. The media likewise accepted this. I don’t want them to use me. I just want to play football. Why are they depriving me of this? It appears that they are either striking at the club, or I have made a move which someone did not like.    

“If all this is because of my decision to go to the Armenian [national] team, why should I have refused [to do this]? Receiving an invitation from the [national] squad is the dream of every footballer. I was born in Russia, but my family roots are from Armenia. Should they punish [me] for that?” Mikhail Markosov said in particular.