players, with his coaching
diploma and all other
awards received in
Ukraine also rescinded.
“Since the beginning of Russia’s
military aggression against Ukraine,
Tymoshchuk, the former captain of
the Ukrainian national team, not only
did not make any public statements
in this regard, but also did not stop
his cooperation with the club of the
aggressor,” read a UAF statement. “At a
time when [his former club] FC Bayern
Munich publishes statements and holds
actions in support of Ukraine, Anatoliy
continues to remain silent and work for
the club of the aggressor. By making
this conscious choice, Anatoliy
Tymoshchuk damages the image
of Ukrainian football.”
The strength of feeling was summed
up by Tymoshchuk’s former team-mate
Rebrov, who now heads the Al Ain club
in the United Arab Emirates: “During a
war, one cannot take a neutral position.
‘I’ll sit for a couple of weeks, wait for
which side will have an advantage, and
then I will express my opinion.’ No. This
will not happen, and I hope that our
UKRAINEcountry will be cleansed of such people.
“My parents, my friends are sitting at
home and do not know when a shell or
an air bomb will fly into them. Russians
say sport is out of politics? They invaded
Ukraine to launch rockets on our soil.
Do they get paid, pay taxes that go to
arms against us and want to compete
with Ukraine in the same football
tournaments? No, it shouldn’t be,
and I’m sure it won’t be!”
The headquarters of the UAF itself
have also switched
to a military mode
of operation. “When
the war began,
we provided our
Football House
for the needs of
humanitarian issues, medicine and a
military hospital,” said the federation’s
president Andriy Pavelko. “We are doing
everything to help our military, our Kyiv
hospitals, in order to be as effective
as possible for the victory of our
country in such a difficult time.”
The UAF Coordination Centre has
also already evacuated more than
1,000 children from schools in
Ukraine to Italy.“I want to thank our army from
the bottom of my heart. Soldiers and
officers are now admired by all of
Ukraine, especially our children,
for whom every military man is a
guardian angel,” added Ukrainian
football legend Igor Belanov.
Oleh Blokhin, a former Ballon
d’Or winner, said: “I am calling on
the command of Russia and Belarus
to immediately stop the shelling of
Ukrainian cities. You are fighting not
only with the soldiers of Ukraine, but
also with the civilian population. It
is a crime! Cities and villages were
destroyed in Ukraine. I am a native
of Kyiv. My city has not seen such
aggression since World War II.
Kyiv, Kharkiv, Chernihiv, Kherson,
Mykolayiv and many other cities
and villages were destroyed.”
In England there has been visible
support for Ukraine inside stadiums,
particularly during games featuring
Ukrainian players, such as Manchester
City defender Oleksandr Zinchenko,
who was handed the captain’s armband
for the FA Cup clash with Peterborough
United at the start of March. “Russia
has crossed all borders. This country
is indeed an aggressor that is killing
civilians and no one in the world can
accept this. We will never give up. We
will fight for our freedom,” said the
25-year-old. “Previously, the younger
generation mostly had football stars
as their idols. But now I can say with
full confidence that the idols of young
people, including me, are the soldiers
of the Ukrainian army. They are the
real heroes!”
His words reflect the aspirations of
millions of Ukrainians who are ready
to give everything for the sake of a
happy future for their country.“What is happening in my
country is just a disaster”
Sheriff Tiraspol manager Yuriy VernydubWell supported...Manchester City supporters raise a flag for left-back Oleksandr ZinchenkoIf you would like to make a donation to Andriy Shevchenko’s Play Your
Part campaign, go to:www.justgiving.com/campaign/play-your-part