MOSCOW, December 5. /TASS/. Russia’s national football team coach Fabio Capello who hasn’t been paid for six months said on Friday that non-payment is an image problem for football in Russia, the host nation for the next World Cup.

“The problem is not that I am not being paid, but that it affects the image of the Russian football,” Capello said in an interview with TASS.

Capello also said that he didn't take over the Russian squad in 2012 for financial reasons.

“At that time, I had better financial offers. Russia’s proposal was more interesting to me, I liked the idea,” Capello said.

Capello signed a four-year contract extension in January 2014 after Russia qualified for the World Cup. According to the Federal Service for Labour and Employment, the Russian Football Union's debt to Capello stands at 181.5 million roubles (more than $3.4 million).

"I don't know such cases when a coach has not been paid for six months," Capello said.

The coach said that the Russian Football Union has not given him the exact date when the salary debt will be repaid.

"There are different rumours but I don't have the exact date," Capello added.

He also said that the team's performance should not be linked to the payment problems.

"We qualified for the World Cup for the first time in 12 years, which is a good result," he said adding that now Russia is not even half way to the 2016 UEFA Cup.

Russia won an UEFA Cup qualification match with Liechtenstein, lost to Austria and played two 1-1 draws with Sweden and Moldova.