Fabio Capello has denied claims by the recently sacked president of the Russian Football Union that he has a secret “second contract” with a shadowy group of individuals or companies.
Capello, the former England manager, has been in charge of the Russia team since 2012. His huge salary has drawn much criticism in the country, and with the recent economic downturn in Russia he was not paid for several months.
“We have found the answer to why Capello himself didn’t complain until the last minute about the salary he was owed,” said Nikolai Tolstykh, in comments to the LifeNews website on Wednesday. Tolstykh was forced to step down after losing a vote of confidence on Sunday.
“The second contract, if it existed, had a salary of €10m … So I have a question: does this contract exist? Who is it with? What services or work was the trainer of our national team doing to receive another €10m?”
Tolstykh gave no indication of how he had received the information, but he appeared to be going public with a long-running behind-the-scenes spat. Tolstykh said the RFU had sent a written request to Capello and his son, who acts as the coach’s official representative, asking to clarify the matter, but had received no response.
“There was panic, and no answers. People would not talk to me about it. And it’s a serious issue. Who is behind Capello? The man gets €7m and €10m. Somewhere this €10m appears, is paid and someone receives it. Who is sharing it out? In the request to Capello I wrote the following: ‘I get the impression that Fabio Capello’s work in Russia is a business project of a certain group of people, which is not linked to the results of the national team.’”
Capello’s son and agent, Pierfilippo Capello, said the allegations were nonsense and insisted the coach had replied to the RFU.
“This is madness,” he said in remarks to RIA Novosti. “There is no second, third, fourth or fifth contract. Fabio Capello has just one contract, with the Russian Football Union. There is no other contract with any other person, company or organisation in Russia or related to Russia.”
He added that legal action would be taken against Tolstykh. “Fabio Capello has already told his team of lawyers in Russia and Italy to take Tolstykh to court,” he said.
In February, the oligarch Alisher Usmanov said he was loaning the football union money so it could pay Capello. “I think the situation created by the current Russian Football Union management is intolerable,” Usmanov said. “It’s an embarrassment when a person who works for Russia doesn’t receive wages for his labour.”
Capello was branded a thief by a nationalist Russian MP for drawing such a big salary after Russia’s disappointing group stage exit from the World Cup in Brazil.
