West Ham United attacker Andriy Yarmolenko has been left fuming as he lashed out at Ukrainian commentator and pundit Wladimir Kobelkov after his fellow countryman was left criticising his performances for the Irons.
The 28-year-old has been a mainstay in the Hammers’ side this season, appearing either in the starting XI or off the bench in every one of their Premier League outings, and after a rocky start to proceedings ha begun to form a partnership with fellow forwards Felipe Anderson and Marko Arnautovic.
Speaking of Kobelkov’s criticisms, the Ukraine international insisted that he wanted to fight the media figure for the comments he made on air.
He told XSport: “In my youth I fought very often. I want to announce my upcoming bout. I can no longer listen to this Kobelkov, as he commentates. I want to call him into battle and take revenge on him for all the words he uttered on the air.
“I want to take revenge on this man. Therefore, I call him to a fight and wait for an answer.”
Opinion
The West Ham man has not held back with his comments on the alleged criticism, although this is hardly a fight that will be on the undercard of the next Anthony Joshua fight. It is good to show that the Ukraine star is wanting to prove his critics wrong, but he is going about proving himself in the wrong way entirely. Instead of calling him out in public, he should be changing perceptions out on the football pitch – although it may be argued that he has done more than enough to warrant some praise from fans and pundits alike in recent weeks. Still, if he can apply that fire into his performances, the Hammers have a potent threat on their hands and the opposition are in for a battle of their own. He just has to make sure he leaves the fighting off the pitch and in words only, otherwise he could find himself in more trouble than he needs to.