Azerbaijan national team explains reason for not inviting Trabzonspor FC player into squad

Trabzonspor FC player Murat Cem Akpınar refused from Azerbaijan to play within the Turkish national team, Head coach of Azerbaijan national U-17 football team Tabriz Hasanov told Report.

The 52-year-old specialist said that the midfielder asked him not to invite him to the Azerbaijani national team: "After Valentin Granatkin's memorial tournament in St. Petersburg in 2016, Murat Cem asked me to not invite him to the national team. He said he wanted to play within the Turkish national team. From that moment the case was closed."

Notably, Murat Cem Akpınar played only within Azerbaijan U-17. He has been invited to the team under the leadership of Tabriz Hasanov in 2016 and scored 2 goals in 13 games.