The new tennis world number one, Daniil Medvedev, has expressed concern about the attack by Russian troops on Ukraine. “Waking up here in Mexico and seeing the news from home wasn’t easy,” said the 26-year-old Russian after his quarter-final victory at the ATP tournament in Acapulco. As a tennis player, he promotes peace around the world. “We play in so many different countries, I’ve been to so many different countries as a junior and as a professional. It’s not easy to hear all this news,” said Medvedev.
Because Novak Djokovic lost on Thursday at the parallel tournament in Dubai, he will hand over his lead in the world rankings to Medvedev next Monday. Of course he’s happy to be number one, said Medvedev, describing this as a goal since childhood. “But in these moments it is clear that sometimes tennis is not so important,” said the Australian Open finalist of this year and US Open winner of 2021. In the semifinals in Acapulco, Medvedev meets the Spaniard Rafael Nadal, against whom he last lost in the Melbourne final after a 2-0 set lead.
Medvedev pointed out that his Russian compatriot Andrei Rublev won the doubles title together with the Ukrainian Denis Molkhanov at the tournament in Marseille last week. “That was great because people have to stick together,” said Medvedev.
Protest in der Europa League
Before the Europa Conference League match against Fenerbahce Istanbul, the players of Slavia Prague made a sign of solidarity with Ukraine attacked by Russia. “We stand with Ukraine” was written on the pre-match jerseys: “We stand with Ukraine”. The captain’s armband was worn by Ukraine international Taras Kacharaba. In the Europa League, the players of Napoli and Barcelona displayed a banner with the words “Stopt Krieg” (“Stop War”). Bergamo’s Ukrainian double goalscorer Ruslan Malinovskyi showed off a T-shirt that read “No War in Ukraine.”
SSC Napoli and FC Barcelona players before the game.
(Foto: SSC Napoli Press Office/imago images/ZUMA Wire)
Fifa is not taking any action on Russia for the time being
Fifa President Gianni Infantino has condemned “the use of force by Russia in Ukraine” on behalf of the world football association. “We woke up today and were shocked by what we saw and experienced,” said the Swiss on Thursday evening after a Fifa Council meeting. “Fifa hopes that the violent conflict will end quickly and that there will be peace in Ukraine.” Violence is “never the solution,” added Infantino (51) after the video conference, which lasted a good hour. In such a situation, football is “not a priority, but Fifa is the global body of football, the organization that deals with the consequences for football”.
Vladimir Putin and Fifa President Gianni Infantino before the 2018 World Cup.
(Photo: Alexei Nikolsky / AP)
However, there were initially no immediate consequences for the playoffs for the World Cup finals in Qatar. Russia is scheduled to play Poland in a semi-final on March 24, and if they win, they will face Sweden or the Czech Republic again at home in five days. The Council Committee is now dealing with this question, said Infantino. “The first game is in a month,” said the Fifa president. “Obviously we hope that the whole situation will be resolved well before that. We want to believe in it. But we have a body that can make the decision when it needs to be made.” Fifa must “address this situation, and we always do it in dialogue,” said Infantino.
Schalke remove Gazprom from the jersey
After the Russian attack on Ukraine, second division soccer team FC Schalke 04 will no longer use the lettering of their main Russian sponsor Gazprom. The club announced this on Thursday. “In view of the events, development and escalation of the past few days,” the club decided to do so, the statement said. The move follows talks with Gazprom Germania. “Instead, Schalke 04 will be on the chest of the Royal Blues,” said the club. The Gazprom logo had already been removed from coach Dimitrios Grammozis’ training jacket at the pre-game press conference.
The lettering “Gazprom” should disappear from the Schalke jerseys for the time being.
(Photo: Martin Meissner/AP)
In the morning it had already become known that the businessman Matthias Warnig, who had been sanctioned by the USA in the course of the Ukraine conflict, had resigned from the supervisory board of the second division football club FC Schalke 04. The club announced on Thursday. Warnig is the CEO of Nord Stream 2 AG, which is a subsidiary of the Russian energy company Gazprom. “As soon as all the formal processes that have to be followed have been carried out, he will also leave the supervisory board of FC Schalke 04,” said club spokesman Marc Siekmann at a press conference. The 66-year-old had been a member of the committee since July 2019 as a co-opted member, sent by the main sponsor Gazprom.
Uefa apparently wants to withdraw the Champions League final from Saint Petersburg
The European Football Union (Uefa) apparently wants to withdraw the Champions League final from Russia’s Saint Petersburg on Friday. Due to the Russian attack on Ukraine, according to information from the sports information service and AP, this decision should be made at a special meeting of the executive committee. The final of the premier class is currently scheduled for May 28 in St. Petersburg.
“We are treating this situation with the utmost seriousness and urgency,” Uefa said in a statement on Thursday. In it, the association “strongly condemned the ongoing Russian military invasion of Ukraine.” They remain “resolute in our solidarity with the football community in Ukraine” and are “ready to extend our hand to the Ukrainian people,” it said.
The Uefa committee meets on Friday (10 a.m.) “to assess the situation and make all necessary decisions”. Uefa initially left it open on Tuesday after the escalation in Ukraine. The Russian state-owned company Gazprom is one of the biggest sponsors of Uefa. Further information on the procedure “will be announced after the Uefa Executive Committee meeting,” it said.
In DFB interim president Rainer Koch and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, the former CEO of Bayern Munich, there are also two German representatives on the executive committee. No changes were initially planned for games in the Europa League involving Russian teams either. Two Russian teams remain in the competition in Zenit St. Petersburg and Spartak Moscow.
Game of Bayern basketball against Moscow canceled
After Russia attacked Ukraine, the EuroLeague game between Bayern Munich and CSKA Moscow was canceled at short notice. The Munich team announced the decision of the league management on Thursday shortly before the game was scheduled to start at 7 p.m. The games between Zenit Saint Petersburg and FC Barcelona (Friday) and between Baskonia Vitoria and Unics Kazan (Thursday) will also not take place.
It was a “precautionary measure,” the EuroLeague said. MagentaSport had previously announced that the TV station would not broadcast any basketball games with Russian participation for the time being. This would have already affected the live coverage of Bayern’s game against Moscow. The EuroLeague has not yet decided if and how it will act. A conference of the 18 participating clubs around Munich and Alba Berlin is scheduled for Friday.
