“Due to the government’s implementation of martial law following Russia’s attacks on Kiev and other cities, the Ukrainian football federation will suspend the Premier League until further notice.”reads a statement.
The news of the escalation of the war conflict also forced the closure of borders and airports, preventing people from leaving the country at war.
“We ask the Brazilian authorities to help us return home”was the dramatic claim of Brazilian soccer players who play for Shakhtar Donetsk, leader of the national championship, and Dinamo Kiev.
The Brazilian players remain with their families in a hotel in the capital and recorded a video to request that the government of Jair Bolsonaro intercede and allow them to leave Ukraine as soon as possible.
The video, which went viral on social media, shows Dodo, VitÆo, Marlon Santos, Ismaily, Maycon, Marcos António, Alan Patrick, David Neres, Dentinho, Teté, Pedrinho, Fernando and Vitinhoaccompanied by their wives and children in the hall of the hotel where -they affirmed- “we are locked up in the middle of a desperate situation”.
“Please, take us home,” ask the soccer players and their wives, who said they feel “abandoned without knowing what to do because the news we receive only comes from Brazil.”
“We ask them to do something for our children. We leave our homes wearing only what we have on”they affirmed.
In the Ukrainian Premier League, Argentines Francisco Di Franco, a Dnipro player, Fabricio Alvarenga, from Rukh de Lviv, and Claudio Spinelli, from Oleksandriya, are in contact with dozens of compatriots who live in Ukraine and with the embassy of their country.
There are also three Colombians in Ukrainian soccer: Gilmar Bolívar and Duván Balceiro, from Karpaty Halych in the third division, and Brayan Riascos, from Metalist Kharkiv, from the second category.
Stranded in Ukraine when surprised by the closure of the borders is the Italian Roberto De Zerbi, coach of Shakthar Donetsk, along with his coaching staff that includes eight compatriots.
“We are blocked in Kiev. We had a plane ticket to return to Italy, but Ukraine closed the airspace and now we are waiting for an official communication to move safely,” said Davide Passanzini, his aide-de-camp.
“We were at home when the explosions began to be heard around 4 or 5 in the morning. The club recommended that we go to a hotel to be safer. We expected a complicated situation, but not like this,” he added.
“We decided to stay in Ukraine despite fear and anxiety because we had been told that it was almost a fact that we would play on Saturday in Kharkiv, about 30 kilometers from the Russian border.”. De Zerbi explained.
“We are not heroes. We decided to stay because the Ukrainian federation underestimated (Russian President Vladimir) Putin when he gave his first speech.”assured the former coach of Sassuolo.
Shakhtar’s squad, which had experienced a similar situation in 2014 in Donbass, when its stadium was bombed, returned to the country on Sunday after carrying out its pre-season in Turkey.
De Zerbi explained that leaving Ukraine by road “is impossible because there are at least five million people going to Poland.”
“This is the worst day of my life. I just pray that a bomb doesn’t drop on us”commented the Portuguese coach Paulo Fonseca, former driver of Roma and Shakhtar Donetsk married to a Ukrainian.
“I woke up at five in the morning with five explosions. I had planned to travel today, but now it is impossible to leave the country because some airports were destroyed and the airspace was closed”reported Fonseca, who also ruled out retreating by land.
The Portuguese painted a bleak picture on the first day of bombings by assuring that “the supermarkets were taken by assault and there is almost nothing left. The fuel has run out. Honestly, I don’t know how I will get out of here.”
For the end of hostilities, the striker Fedor Smolov, from Dinamo Moscow and the first player of the Russian national team who sent a message to that effect under the slogan “No to war” on Instagram, shortly after the bombings began, cried out.
His Ukrainian colleague Roman Yaremchuk, who is part of his country’s national team, celebrated Benfica’s equalizer against Ajax in the Champions League round of 16 on Wednesday with a message of encouragement to his nation when the attack seemed imminent.
“I am Ukrainian and I am proud of it. Glory to Ukraine”later posted on Instagram also by “thanking all those who defend our history, our culture and our borders with courage.”
Roksana, The wife of Ukrainian soccer player Ruslan Malinovskyi, a player for Italian Atalanta, considered the bombings “a crime against humanity” while pleading “stop this horror.”
“Russia is lying when it says that it is protecting the East (the two republics east of Ukraine, Ndr) from us, when in fact it is attacking us,” he added.
His colleague and compatriot Viktor Kovalenko, a Spezia player, was “extremely concerned about what is happening in my country. My thoughts are with those who protect my homeland” and predicted that “peace will soon be restored.”
“If sport is in a position to help peace? It always was, history says so”commented Gabriele Gravina, president of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC). Stefano Pioli, coach of Milan, leader of the championship, was “very concerned about the situation because he – he stressed – life is priceless”.
Giorgio Chiellinidefender and captain of Juventus and the “azzurra” team predicted that “this will not have a domino effect and diplomacy can heal this serious fracture.
“Wake up with this news and with those images today was something really traumatic. I was betting until the last moment that this crisis would not lead to an armed conflict”he assured when expressing his “solidarity with the Ukrainian people and with the victims of this war”.
Source: Ambito
David William is a talented author who has made a name for himself in the world of writing. He is a professional author who writes on a wide range of topics, from general interest to opinion news. David is currently working as a writer at 24 hours worlds where he brings his unique perspective and in-depth research to his articles, making them both informative and engaging.
