Golovin plays down bust-up with Sobolev in Russia camp

Aleksandr Golovin said the flare-up with Aleksandr Sobolev at Russia training was nothing more than a joke that got read the wrong way.

Sobolev had struck Golovin with a ball between the legs at a session days earlier while the midfielder stood with his back turned, bent down to tie his laces. The ball caught him under the knees and bounced back. Sobolev's response — "Oh, sorry. You know it was an accident. I was aiming past you, you know. It caught the edge" — did not go down well. Golovin turned round and asked him "Are you an idiot? An idiot or what?" Team-mates then played the exchange back for laughs at the following session, and the video went round.

Golovin, speaking to Okko, played down any suggestion of bad blood.

"It's not a row at all. Everyone took it as if it were one. In fact there's nothing to it. He and I are very close, we've known each other a long time. We knew each other even before the national side. It was just a joke, as usual. It was just one of those moments that came across as if it were serious. A lot of people took it that way. In truth there's nothing to it, it's just a joke," Golovin said.

He added that the pair had been on friendly terms long before either wore the Russia shirt: "We're very close, we've known each other since before the national team."

Russia play Iran in a friendly in Kazan on 29 September, kicking off at 19:00 Moscow time at the Ak Bars Arena — the fixture the squad was training for when the incident happened.

Golovin, 30, has scored four Ligue 1 goals this season for Monaco, who sit top of the table on 13 points from five matches after beating PSG 2-1 earlier this month.