Alarmed after the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian army, the world of sport reacts. And some stars are calling for a boycott of Russian events.
The alarmed sporting world is preparing its response after the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian army on Thursday, threatening the holding of several events linked to the two countries, starting with the Champions League final in Saint Petersburg end of May, which could be moved. UEFA, which strongly condemned the Russian military invasion on Thursday, decided to urgently convene its executive committee on Friday (10 a.m.). Its members could be led to upset the calendar for the coming months, or even to take sanctions against Moscow, in unison with the international community.
Read alsoUEFA ‘strongly condemns’ Russian military invasion of Ukraine
Top of the pile is the fate of the Champions League final, scheduled for May 28 in St Petersburg, whose stadium is named after gas giant Gazprom, one of UEFA’s main sponsors since 2012. “No decision has been taken” by UEFA at this stage, but the European confederation “is working on different options” to relocate the meeting, a source familiar with the matter told AFP.
No handball in Ukraine
Moscow must also host the semi-final of the 2022 World Cup play-offs between Russia and Poland on March 24, or even the final on March 29, if “Sbornaïa” beats Robert Lewandowski’s team. In addition to the C1 final, the Polish Minister of Sports also suggested on Tuesday to withdraw the organization of the Men’s Volleyball World Championship from Russia, which begins on August 26.
For its part, the German club Schalke (D2) has decided to remove the name of Gazprom, its main sponsor, from its jerseys, while the representative of the Russian company has resigned from his duties on the supervisory board.
Read alsoUkraine: the IOC accuses Moscow of having violated the Olympic truce
Zenit Saint Petersburg, owned by Gazprom, is due to play on Thursday evening (9:00 p.m.) on the ground of Bétis Seville, in the Europa League. The meeting is well maintained, confirmed the Spanish club. FC Barcelona basketball players have postponed their trip to the banks of the Neva, where a Euroleague match against Zénit was scheduled for Friday.
Formula 1 world champions Max Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel also do not see themselves competing in the Russian Grand Prix in September. Playing in Ukraine seems even more complicated. The European Handball Federation (EHF) has decided to relocate or postpone the matches which were to take place on Ukrainian soil for the next four weeks. The explosion of the conflict led the National Football League on Thursday to suspend the Ukrainian Championship, which was to resume on Friday after more than two months of winter break.
“No to war”
Several foreign players and coaches were alarmed by the situation, caught in the dilemma between wanting to leave the territory and remaining loyal to their club. “The situation is serious and we are stuck in Kyiv waiting for a solution to leave. We are inside a hotel. Pray for us”, launched on Instagram the Brazilian striker (with a Ukrainian passport) Junior Moraes, who plays at Shakthar Donetsk. “I didn’t leave because I’m here to play sports and I couldn’t turn my back on the Championship and the supporters who follow us,” his coach, the Italian Roberto De Zerbi, told the Italian agency Italpress. .
Read alsoFormula 1: Verstappen calls for the cancellation of the Russian GP, Vettel announces that he would not go in the event of maintenance
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) “strongly condemns the violation of the Olympic truce”, in force until seven days after the closing of the Paralympic Games in Beijing (March 4-13), “by the Russian government” and has set up a working group to closely monitor the situation. This group must also “coordinate, as far as possible, humanitarian assistance to members of the Olympic community in Ukraine”.
Outside the country, several Ukrainian footballers have taken a stand, such as Benfica Lisbon striker Roman Yaremchuk or Manchester City defender Oleksandr Zinchenko. “Glory to Ukraine,” wrote tennis player Elena Svitolina, former world number 3, on Instagram. Rare Russian voice to speak, international footballer Fedor Smolov wrote “No to war”, followed by a flag of Ukraine and a broken heart, in a short message on Instagram. Tennis player Andrey Rublev pleaded for “peace” after his victory in the quarter-finals of the Dubai tournament, which was “not important” given the “terrible” context.
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