The conflict that has erupted in the last few hours brings with it many problems for sporting events involving Russia
The consequences of the war in Ukraine also affect sport. “Due to the imposition of martial law, the Ukrainian championship was suspended“: this is the official statement from the local football federation after the Russian attack in the last few hours. The Ukrainian Premier League should have restarted in the next few hours. Uefa meanwhile he has called one extraordinary meeting for Friday: we go towards the move from St. Petersburg of the Champions League final scheduled for May 28th.
BRAZILIAN PLAYERS: “TAKE US HOME”
“The Brazilian authorities help us to return home”. The numerous Brazilian players of Shakhtar and Dinamo Kiev gathered together with their families in a hotel in the Ukrainian capital and made a video to ask Brasilia for help to leave the country now under attack by Russia. At the moment the airports and borders are closed and it is therefore not possible to leave Ukraine. The cry for help comes through a video that has already gone viral on social media in which you can see the players Dodô, Vitão, Marlon Santos, Ismaily, Maycon, Marcos António, Alan Patrick, David Neres, Dentinho, Tetê, Pedrinho, Fernando and Vitinho, together with their wives and children, gathered in what appears to be the hotel lobby to launch a desperate appeal to the Bolsonaro government: “We are locked up in a hotel. The situation is desperate. Take us home”, is part of the message . Speaking are also the wives who like their husbands ask to return to Brazil as soon as possible: “We wives are here with our children. We feel a bit abandoned because we don’t know what we can do, the news comes only from Brazil and we appeal to you to do something for the children. We left our homes carrying only a few clothes and we don’t know how to solve this situation “.
BASKETBALL, EUROLEGA: BARCELONA DOES NOT LEAVE FOR SAINT PETERSBURG
Basketball Euroleague: Barcelona has announced that they are not leaving for St. Petersburg. Tomorrow at 12 all the Euroleague clubs will meet to decide what to do.
UEFA WILL MOVE THE CHAMPIONS FINAL FROM RUSSIA
UEFA would have decided that St. Petersburg will no longer host this season’s Champions League final after Russia attacked Ukraine. The Associated Press learns. An extraordinary meeting of the UEFA Executive Committee will be held tomorrow to discuss the geopolitical crisis and a source said officials will confirm that the challenge scheduled for May 28 will not be played in Russia.
SWEDEN ALSO SAYS NO TO PLAYOFFS IN RUSSIA
After Poland, Sweden also says no to the playoff dispute for the World Cup in Russia. The play-off is scheduled for March 24 in Moscow between the Russian and Polish national teams, and the winner will face the winner of Sweden-Czech Republic on March 29. If the intersection were to be between Russia and Sweden, the venue would already be fixed in Moscow . “It is unthinkable to play there,” said Karl Erik Nilsson, president of the Stockholm Football Association this morning. “As it appears here and now, today, there is absolutely no desire to play a football match in Russia,” he added. In recent days, it was the Polish Football Association that wrote to FIFA asking to “clarify the situation”; at the moment the world confederation has not given any indication on the matter. “Our thoughts – added Nilsson – go to our friends in Ukraine for the situation in which they woke up today: it is terrible. Football should be seen as something less important in the middle of this hell. Banning Russia from the World Cup. World? In the future we will have to live together, I would go easy on hasty decisions “.
IOC: STOP CONDEMNATION OF OLYMPIC TRUCE VIOLATION
“Today, IOC President Thomas Bach reiterates his call for peace, expressed in his speeches at the opening ceremony and closing ceremony of the Olympic Games. At the opening ceremony, he addressed an invitation to the political authorities: ‘Observe your commitment to this Olympic truce. Give peace a chance “. At the closing ceremony, he asked the political leaders to ‘be inspired’ by the example of solidarity and peace ‘given by the Olympic athletes”, reads the Committee’s statement. international Olympic. “Following the recent events – concludes the note -, the IOC is deeply concerned for the security of the Olympic Community in Ukraine. It has set up a task force to closely monitor the situation and coordinate humanitarian assistance to members of the Olympic Community in Ukraine. , where possible”.
GP SOCHI IN SEPTEMBER, F1: “WE MONITOR THE SITUATION”
“Formula 1 is closely watching the very fluid developments that are happening, like so many others. And at the moment we have no further comments on the race scheduled for next September. We will continue to monitor the situation closely.” This is the official statement from Formula 1, owned by the United States, after the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. The Sochi GP is scheduled for September 25, while another stage of the Circus is scheduled for 2023, in St. Petersburg. The repercussions of the war in Ukraine could have consequences not only for the GPs but also for teams like the American-owned Haas, but financed by Russian sponsors. The team of Mick Schumacher and the Russian driver ‘blessed’ by Putin Nikita Mazepin could have liquidity problems if the taps of the Russian chemical sponsor Uralkali were closed.
THE WIFE OF PAULO FONSECA: “CHILDREN DID NOT DESERVE THE WAR”
“The scariest day. Pain. Anger, rage, anger and pain. My son did not deserve the war. The children of Ukraine did not deserve the war.” Katerina Ostroushko, wife of Paulo Fonseca, former coach of Shakhtar Donetsk and Rome, writes on Instagram. The couple is currently in Kiev.
UEFA: EXTRAORDINARY MEETING
Uefa statement: “Following the evolution of the situation between Russia and Ukraine, the president ofUefa summoned a extraordinary meeting of the Executive Committee for 10:00 on Friday 25 February, in order to assess the situation and take all the necessary decisions “.
SPEZIA, KOVALENKO: “NO TO WAR”
“No war in Ukraine“. It’s the message of Victor Kovalenko, Ukrainian midfielder from Spezia, on Instagram, in front of the dramatic situation in his country. The player reposted a video with meaningful images of Ukrainian pride.
WIFE MALINOVSKYI: “CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY”
“This is a crime against all humanity”. This is what he writes Roksana Malinovska, wife of Atalanta striker Ruslan Malinovskyi, commenting on the situation in Ukraine. “Guys, early in the morning Russia officially started the war on the entire territory of Ukraine. All strategic objects explode, people are horrified, panicked,” reads the post on Instagram. “All borders are currently closed. Our families with Ruslan in Ukraine. I cry and pray for my country, for our people, for my home. The Russian news – adds Roksana – does not tell the truth. They say they are protecting the East from us! This is a crime against all humanity, how can this horror be stopped“.
RUSSIAN NATIONAL SMOLOV: “NO TO WAR”
“No to war” on a black background, accompanied by the initials of Ukraine (UA) and a broken heart. Fedor Smolov, Dynamo Moscow forward, is the first national team player to openly take sides against the armed attack on Ukraine. The 32-year-old player, called up for the last three matches of the Russian selection, took a stand on Instagram a few hours after the start of the Russian army’s air and ground attack against Ukraine.
LUCESCU: “REST, I’M NOT A COWARD”
Mircea Lucescu, Dynamo Kiev coach, spoke to Fanatik: “I hope this war stops as soon as possible, I won’t leave Kiev. I’m not a coward.”
MAGNANI: “I’m not afraid for my life”
“When I left for Ukraine I was aware of the risks, but I didn’t think the war would come so quickly. Before I left, I had reassurance that it would not happen. Evidently, diplomacy has not been able to curb the impulse for expansion. Putin’s “. He says it Massimo Magnani, former technical director of FIDAL, from the Ukrainian city of Poltava, about 300 kilometers east of Kiev, where it is currently located. “My situation is quite calm. I was here for a training course with the staff who organize road races and who are working on the Kiev marathon project. Tonight, the situation has deteriorated and now the return journey will be a little bit. long, because the airspace is closed “, says Magnani. “I have no fears for my life -precise-, here life still flows normal. We are only sorry to see the great concern on the faces of many Ukrainian friends. The future is not so certain for them, they do not know how far Putin wants to go and Ukraine had already paid the price from this point of view in the past “.
THE UEFA DECISIONS
As for the Champions League final, Uefa took steps to clarify after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and a group of MEPs raised doubts as to whether an increasingly isolated Russia could host a sporting event. The leading European football organization replied with a note: “Uefa is constantly and closely monitoring the situation. There are currently no plans to change the location“. As for the world playoffs, which see the home team in Moscow on 24 March against Poland in the first play-off for access to Qatar, the Warsaw Football Association raised the issue of the venue in a public note.
“Political decisions remain in the hands of state authorities and international organizations but, aware of the potential threats linked to the current situation, we await the position of the governing bodies of the world federation. The case concerns not only the Polish national team, but also the national teams of Sweden and the Czech Republic, who could potentially face Russia in Moscow in a possible playoff final ”, this is the note from the Warsaw Football Association.
