Russia World Cup hero and captain, Artem Dzyuba apologises after he was caught masturbating in leak video

Russia World Cup hero and captain, Artem Dzyuba has offered a public apology after a leaked video emerged online of him masturbating in bed.

The Zenit Saint Petersburg striker, 32, who has since been dropped from both his role as club captain and from his place in the Russia squad, took to social media to address the embarrassing incident.

He played and scored in Zenit 3-1 victory on Sunday despite being subjected to chants from large sections of the crowd, referencing the leaked video.

‘Congratulations everyone on a very important victory,’ he said in a new clip posted on social media, as reported by Russia Today. ‘It wasn’t the easiest match of my career. I almost couldn’t hold back my emotions in the car on the way home.

‘But I would like to say next, that I am not perfect, just like anyone else. I make mistakes. We’re all sinners, unfortunately. I can only blame myself.

‘In such moments when practically everybody turns their back on you, I’m unbelievably thankful to those people who are with me and who showed me support in a difficult moment, my friends and loved ones, in such moments you find out who your friends are.

‘Even people who I don’t know have supported me, people in the stadium who celebrated wildly (when I scored). I thank you all, I’m so grateful, I will never forget that you were with me.’

‘I’m not perfect and have never banked on that,’ Dzyuba’s apology continued. ‘On the whole I hope I can live my life well, and be a good person no matter what. No one has ever stepped up and not made a mistake. Thank you to all the famous faces who supported me, I’m really thankful to you honestly.

‘I’m trying to contain myself so as not to be a show-off, that’s not what I’m about. Thanks especially to my teammates, we rallied together and showed everyone that we are really a team.

‘Thank you to the world for these lessons which are very painful and harsh for me, but I’ve only myself to blame. I will try my hardest not to break, despite today being extremely difficult. All the best and goodbye.’

The Zenit Saint Petersburg forward became a national hero after he scored three goals at the 2018 World Cup, which saw host nation Russia reach the quarter-finals.