Plotnitsky: No one from the Federation contacted me. I don’t understand, should I call myself and ask to join the team?

Ex-leader Ukrainian national volleyball team Oleg Plotnitsky commented on the scandalous situation around himself and other players who had previously refused to play for the national team.

“I know the situation for almost every player on the national team. Sometimes, when I read an interview with the President of the Federation [Михаила Мельника]I have a feeling that he is like some kind of politician. Politicians can speak well, but there is not always truth in their words. If we talk about me, no one contacted me. In turn, I myself also do not plan to contact anyone. I don’t understand, should I call and ask to join the team? It seems to me that the coach or someone from the team should recruit, and find out from each of the players their internal situation, physical readiness, plans.”

“At one time, these unflattering words towards the players went very far. They made us – I don’t know if it’s possible to say so – some kind of suckers. They attributed something that actually did not exist. Some of the players will meet halfway, understanding all the risks of losing their club career. I would like a good organizational component to appear around the national team so that we can beat the Turkish national team, for example, and other teams that we have not been able to beat in recent years. So far I don’t see such mutual understanding in communication and organizational issues in the national team.”

“I don’t think anything big will happen if we just get together and talk. All adults and professionals. For example, I understand what I have to do on the court. They must also understand in the Federation what they need to do in organizational matters. It is clear that this does not always work out, but for it to not work out at all is impossible. Let’s see how it goes. I think that next summer will put everything in its place. I don’t care, but other guys have relatives who read all these statements, comments and worried, took it to heart. I wish this would all end. They focus on the same players, they say that we don’t need them in the national team, but every time they replay this situation in a new way, and the same names are heard again. This definitely does not have a positive effect on the situation and the future of the team.”

Let us remind you that in early May, before the start of the national team in the Golden Euroleague, several players did not come to the national team training camp. In particular, its leader Oleg Plotnitsky refused to be called up to the national team. In addition to him, the following did not appear at the team’s location: diagonal Vasily Tupchy, as well as four representatives of the Ukrainian champion Prometheus – Yan Ereshchenko, Dmitry Teremenko, Gorden Brova and Vitaly Shchitkov.

Then the President of the Ukrainian Volleyball Federation, Mikhail Melnik, quickly called the volleyball players who refused to join the national team under the newly appointed coach Raul Lozano, “traitors.”

Recently, in September, Melnyk reported that, according to his information, some “refuseniks” called Raul Lozano, expressing a desire to play for the national team again. According to the functionary, almost all the “disgraced” volleyball players did this, except Plotnitsky.

27-year-old Plotnitsky has been playing in Italy for the last seven years – first for Monza, and since 2019 for Perugia. As part of the latter, he became the champion of Italy 2024 and a two-time winner of the Club World Cup. Oleg played 77 matches for the Ukrainian national team and scored 1967 points.

Last month, the Ukrainian men’s team found out their group stage opponents at the 2025 World Cup, which will be held in the Philippines next September. The blue-yellows will play in Quartet F with Italy (the current world champions), Belgium and Algeria.