Serhiy Rebrov's Apology After Padel Controversy with Vasily Berezutsky

Serhiy Rebrov has issued a public apology after a video of him playing padel with former Russia international Vasily Berezutsky triggered a backlash in Ukraine.

The clip, filmed in Marbella, Spain, showed the pair as doubles partners on a padel court. It is not known when the footage was recorded, but once it hit Ukrainian social media, the reaction was immediate and fierce. Many fans accused the former Ukraine head coach of crossing a line at a time when any perceived closeness to Russian football figures is heavily scrutinized.

Rebrov responded on Instagram, stressing both regret and his political stance.

“I knew about Berezutsky’s antiwar stance, but I wasn’t aware that he had recently gone to Russia to work as a coach — I don’t follow football in the terrorist state,” he wrote. “As a public figure, I want to apologize to the Ukrainians I offended by doing this, but I ask that no one doubt my pro-Ukrainian stance.”

The 50-year-old took charge of Ukraine’s national team in 2023, tasked with steering a new cycle in the middle of war and upheaval. His tenure ended in the spring of 2026 after Ukraine failed to qualify for the World Cup, a miss that brought its own wave of criticism. He has stayed inside the game’s power structure, though, moving upstairs to become a vice president of the Ukrainian Association of Football.

Berezutsky’s presence in the video added another layer to the storm. The former CSKA Moscow defender was one of the defining Russian players of the 2010s, a mainstay for both club and country. On February 24, 2022, the day Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, he was among the few Russian athletes to speak out publicly, posting “No to war” on social media.

At that point he was on the CSKA coaching staff, working under his brother, Alexei Berezutsky. When Alexei was dismissed as head coach in the summer of 2022, Vasily left Russia for Spain, stepping away from the domestic game there.

That changed in December 2025, when he accepted the job of head coach at Ural, a Russian club battling in the First League. His spell was short and unsuccessful in sporting terms: Ural failed to win promotion to the Russian Premier League, and Berezutsky departed at the end of the season.

Those details, largely unnoticed in Ukraine until now, have suddenly become central to the debate around Rebrov’s judgment. The former national coach insists his values have not shifted. The question now is whether his explanation will calm the outrage, or whether one padel match will leave a lasting mark on his standing in Ukrainian football.