Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink severs ties with Ukraine-sanctioned betting firm after England appointment

Jimmy Flloyd Hasselbaink has agreed to stop doing promotional work with betting companies while he is an England coach after an interview with him was published by Parimatch, the gambling firm sanctioned by Ukraine, just two days after the nation’s football team visited Wembley.

Hasselbaink also gave an interview to Safe Betting Sites at the end of January in which he claimed his former club Chelsea should buy England captain Harry Kane from Tottenham Hotspur for £50million this summer.

England manager Gareth Southgate appointed Hasselbaink to his coaching staff to replace Chris Powell in time to start work for the European Championship qualifiers against Italy and Ukraine.

The Football Association handed out free tickets to Ukrainians who were forced out of their home country following the invasion by Russia and sponsor families who have taken them in for last Sunday’s Euros qualifier between England and Ukraine at Wembley.

Just two days after England’s victory, however, an interview with Hasselbaink was published on the Parimatch website which threatened to cause embarrassment to the former Chelsea striker and the FA.

The interview took place on February 10, a month before Parimatch was sanctioned by Ukraine and before any talks over Hasselbaink joining Southgate’s staff took place.

But Hasselbaink is said to have accepted that the rules of engagement surrounding his promotional work have now changed and that he will not work with any betting firms while he is on Southgate’s staff.

Chelsea, who Hasselbaink still does work for as a global ambassador, are reviewing their sponsorship with Parimatch, which is one of 287 companies on a sanctions list published on March 10 by Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky with the firm banned from any economic or financial activity in Ukraine for the next 50 years.

Parimatch has been sanctioned for continuing to conduct business in Russia a year after the invasion of Ukraine, which Zelensky claims has directly assisted Vladimir Putin’s regime.

Other than avoiding work with Parimatch, Hasselbaink will stop promoting betting companies in general or giving interviews in relation to the club futures of England players.

Premier League clubs will be reassured by that news, as they must be confident that Hasselbaink, or any other England coaches, will not tout their Three Lions stars to rival clubs.

In an interview with Safe Betting Sites at the end of January, Hasselbaink said: “The only person you could go and get who is that type of player who will strengthen Chelsea in that position is Harry Kane. If I was in charge I would go after him. I know he might not make the move because of the rivalry with Spurs but I would at least try.

“I know he’s 29, but at the end of the season he will only have one or two years left on his contract. He won’t cost £100m this summer, he will cost more like £50m or £60m which is much better value.”

Hasselbaink played for four seasons at Chelsea, scoring 87 goals in 177 games before leaving to join Middlesbrough, where he got to know Southgate, in 2004.

Tottenham do not want to sell Kane, but, even with just over a year remaining on his contract, value him at £100m - twice Hasselbaink’s predicted price.

Hasselbaink spent all of last week with Kane and the England squad, and was said to be paying particular attention to Southgate’s strikers and forwards in his new role.

Kane became England’s all-time record scorer by taking his international tally to 55 in the Italy and Ukraine games, and has not ruled out one day hitting the century mark for his country.

“Getting 100 will be tough for sure, but I never count out anything,” Kane told the PA news agency. “I am still young, I am 29, I am still fit and strong. I want to play for England for as long as I can.

“Every game there is, I will be putting myself forward to try and play. We will take it step by step. The next step will be trying to get into the 60s. A hundred is not out of the question, it will be extremely tough but we will have to see how the next few years go.”