Where is Tuomas Sammelvuo? Why doesn’t he give interviews at all? Is he still in Russia? Will he continue coaching on the Russian national volleyball team?
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24. For three months, a huge number of questions revolved around the moss that no one received. Criticism, even hate mail, flowed over the Finnish coach.
Now Sammelvuo tells us what has happened to him in recent months. Sammelvuo was a guest on the Sports Crazy program heard on Radio Finland.
– At the point when the situation escalated, all the plans went new at once. Personal matters first, Sammelvuo talks about what happened at the end of February.
There were enough challenges in dealing with personal matters. Sammelvuo’s spouse is Ukrainian. The spouse is also related to Ukraine.
– Spouse there, his close ones there. How to move on from here and how to get all the paperwork and permits in order for everyone to travel safely. At that point, I made the decision to focus on those things, Sammelvuo says.
Why did you decide to stay out of the public for so long?
– I think whatever I said at that point would have made some negative news. And I understand that. But like our brilliant president Sauli Niinistö said: when things around change really fast, keep your head cold. That’s what I’ve tried to do myself. Now everything is fine for permits and others, and we can talk.
Sammelvuo came to Finland with his wife a couple of weeks ago. He says from the beginning their plan was to come here.
– Yeah, sure. And at that point, I quickly made a follow-up deal to another country, coaching the club team. That, too, was already a situation where we had to get everything in order so that we could leave, Sammelvuo says.
According to Sammelvuo, it took a long time to apply for visas and do paperwork.
– And the fact that my spouse can travel normally in Europe was accompanied by whatever papers. Official translations into many languages on all papers and official stamps.
– Alina there were also jobs as a coach on a daily basis. And for myself, life has been there for a relatively long time, due to my work. It had its mouth open for what should be done. It was a pretty difficult place.
Many Finnish athletes left Russia at a rapid pace when the war began. Why did you stay there so long?
– I could turn it around so that if someone suddenly had to leave here (Finland) and leave their spouse, jobs, apartments and all the goods and just leave. It just won’t work. Everyone thinks personally about what makes sense and how to organize things so that they can be reached at all. We did a pretty big paperwork to make sure everything was in order for us to move around.
The paperwork was finally fixed, but traveling from Russia to Finland required even more adjustment. The flights did not run and the train could not move.
– We got in the car now. And the fact that you can get there by car has to have different papers. Fortunately, it went pretty painlessly, hopefully this will continue, Sammelvuo says.
When did the work in Russia end?
Just a day after the start of the war in Ukraine, Zenit, a St. Petersburg club, announced that Sammelvuo had resigned as the team’s head coach.
– That decision had been made earlier, Sammelvuo says.
– There are many reasons why things in Zenit ended then. And, of course, things went so far that work with the Russian national team did not continue.
Because you made the decision not to continue as coach of the Russian national team?
– After all, my contract expired on December 31 last year. It was then discussed with the union about a possible three-year extension to the Paris Olympics. The agreement was never made.
The Russian Volleyball Association said on May 8 that Sammelvuo can no longer serve as the head coach of the national team.
– The Russian Volleyball Association reports that everyone understands that Sammelvuo cannot be the head coach of the national team in this situation, because he could also be in a really bad light and under a lot of pressure in Finland, Sammelvuo says.
Wouldn’t it have been easier if you had come to the public earlier and told me not to continue as Russia’s head coach?
– Well, I don’t know … I don’t know. Then again, on the other hand, if all the politics and wars and the rest are taken away, then yes, I have to stop things smart with the former employer and the players. The players have been absolutely brilliant to coach there. I also wanted to take care of things the way they should normally be taken care of between people.
If you had a contract, would you have been able to continue as head coach of the national team in a country that is at war?
– Certainly not. That is clear. Yes, everyone there understood it, even the Russian (volleyball) federation. They also reported that if Sammelvuo continued as head coach, he could come under really tough pressure in his home country. They also had a full understanding of the matter. So I wouldn’t have continued.
How was it felt in Russia that you did not continue working there?
– Just like normal. I have talked to players, national team players, Zenit players and foreign players. That was very clear to everyone.
“It’s pretty easy to say from home couch”
In early March, Sammelvuo negotiated the plague of the head coach of the French national volleyball team. He reached the final stage of the application process, but did not end up getting a job.
However, a new job was found quickly, on the side of club coaching. More specifically, he does not want to comment.
– First, the club publishes official releases. Until the club reports, I can’t talk about it.
Sammelvuo sees his own situation in Russia as easier than many others, as he did not have a valid agreement. Some athletes played in Russia until the end of their contract period.
– For example, from the volleyball side, when you look at it, the Yankee passer-by in Kazan continued until the end of the season, in Zenit the Slovenian player and the French player played until the end of the season. Also Lauri Kermisen played for the end of the season in Moscow.
Do you understand the moral problem here as well?
– Of course I understand that. But it’s pretty easy to say from here on the home couch what people should do in their lives. I believe everyone is really trying sensibly to think about what should be done. Things just aren’t always that simple because it has families, livelihoods and everything else.
– Of course I understand that, Sammelvuo repeats.
– I know from my own contract periods that if I leave, there will be really tough sanctions. I had a different situation because there was no contract with the Russian national team. And things were stopped with Zenit just then, Sammelvuo commented.
Strong criticism and hate mail
Sammelvuo has received a lot of criticism for its silence. He says he also received direct hate mail.
– Well, pretty much. From strangers. And guidance from those I know. Some have been messages that I no longer hope to receive.
How did it feel to receive something like that?
– It hasn’t affected me that way. Basically, it just feels like people have to focus their own anger on something. And of course, I’m an easy target because I’ve been the head coach of the Russian national team.
Sammelvuo wants people to be temperate.
– You should always think before you say something. I have been on the Finnish national team for 26 years. I love my country. Even though I have lived and been elsewhere for a long time, it never changes anywhere.
The anger feedback has felt particularly bad from the point of view of Sammelvuo’s spouse.
– My spouse is from Ukraine, she has a large part of the family there. We have had a lot of discussions about whether they are healthy. You can’t always get in touch. The parents of many of the athletes from my spouse’s dance club are there. It is not a very easy situation for him. Those situations have actually been quite a lot more important than some incoming hate mail for me, Sammelvuo says.
The life of Sammelvuo and his wife has long been in St. Petersburg.
When are you going to go there next?
– I do not know yet. Of course you have to go there because there are all the stuff and others out there. Let’s see when we can get there. When work continues in another country, it is a must. But let’s see how things go.
Has this three month period changed you in any way?
– I think it puts us all in perspective. What things are really important in life? This time teaches to appreciate, when in recent years there has been all sorts of things in the world, then it teaches to value freedom, health, and loved ones. If you’ve looked at the world from a slightly smaller window in the past, then I think you’re looking at it from a wider window now.