Playboy model Maria Liman has voiced her support for axed Russian national football team’s captain Artem Dzyuba. The Russian forward who plays for Zenit Saint Petersburg, was dropped from the national squad after a video surfaced online of him masturbating. The clip and the sacking that followed has resulted in widespread debate in Russia over personal freedom and attitude towards sex.
Maria Liman posted the image in support of Dzyuba on Instagram
“I’m fuming! [This is] an absurd situation. In times of democracy, how is this possible?” she said in an Instagram post which showed one image with her rear and another image of Dzyuba’s iconic ‘Salute’ celebration. “I was the most beautiful fan at the FIFA World Cup and I followed all the matches in Russia. I am proud of every goal that Russia scored. Without Dzyuba, we would not have won. How can you deprive the Russian national team of the captain for w*nking in his free time?’Everyone w*nks when they want’—is it really not appropriate in this situation?”
Voted as one of the sexiest fans of the 2018 Fifa World Cup held in Russia, Liman said that it was a privilege to watch Dzyuba play. Russia made it to the quarterfinals in the tournament falling to Croatia in penalties after both sides drew 2-2 in regular time.
The video shows Dzyuba masturbating on a bed. Liman, who has an account on the adult website OnlyFans, said that people should be thankful that they saw Dzyuba so closely. She further added that if the video was on OnlyFans, it would have gotten him millions of dollars. “Many people in general should be grateful that they looked at the naked God of football for free, if [Dzyuba] had Only Fans, this video would bring him millions of dollars. What ungrateful people... I watched this video a dozen times with pleasure and I’m really glad that the guy has an exciting size and a wonderful erection. Not everyone can boast of this in our difficult times. We’re slowly returning to communism and the Soviet Union when ‘There is no sex in the USSR’... Nobody jerks off here, guys! What are you?! This is Russia! P.S. I hope you don’t remain indifferent to this situation”, she wrote.
Dzyuba was the victim of a hacking and extortion attempt which resulted in the video leak. Following the leak, he was stripped off his captaincy by both the Russian national squad as well as his club team St Petersburg. Dzyuba admitted that it was mistake to film the video, which was from December last year and said that “we are all sinners”. The clip was posted by a hacker who had asked for $5 million to not leak the compromising clip. Dzyuba’s sacking has resulted in widespread debate in Russia with many siding with the striker.
Liman also admitted that she has filmed herself on numerous occasions. “When I got my first camera phone, the first thing I did was film my breasts. When I saw him completely naked, I thought, ‘Wow, what a stomach, what a press!”, she said. Liman is not the only Russian celebrity to back Dzyuba. Presidential candidate Ksenia Sobchak also voiced support and a female flashmob also came out in support of the former captain.
