Emma Raducanu’s former coach Dmitry Tursunov says he left because of ‘red flags’
Emma Raducanu’s former coach Dmitry Tursunov has described her as “a complicated woman” but said there were “red flags” that would’ve led him to believe that there was a conflict of interest in her relationship with the country’s top football coach.
Raducanu was fired by the national team earlier this month after a scandal involving her relationship with former national team captain and coach Marin Cilic. When he found out about the relationship, Tursunov resigned as Raducanu’s coach.
But the former Russian national team coach is now calling for Raducanu’s reinstatement on Twitter.
“I left because of red flags,” Tursunov said in an interview on R-Sport. “I had to make sure I found the right person.”
The coach cited Raducanu’s relationship with Cilic and her former life as a model in the fashion industry as reasons to get rid of the Olympic champion.
“A lot of questions that should be answered [regarding the Cilic affair] haven’t been answered. There are a lot of things, of course, that need to be evaluated,” Tursunov added.
Emma Raducanu’s former coach Dmitry Tursunov has called for her reinstatement despite her firing from the Russian national team. R-Sport’s Maria Golova asked about her reinstatement.
“I think, at first, [Cilic’s] name was not part of the discussion,” Tursunov said. “After a while, the relationship started to be the main thing. And I couldn’t support that.”
Tursunov is one of Russia’s most well-known figures in global football circles.
Last month, he was appointed by the Russian football federation (RFFF) for the second time in its