Krishna Pays Tribute After Goal

Roy Krishna pointed his hands to the sky before dropping to his knees in prayer, in a tribute to the victims of Christchurch’s terrorist attack.

The star Wellington Phoenix striker, who revealed on social media the pain of playing football yesterday, just two days after 50 innocent people, including a New Zealand futsal representative and two Fijians, lost their lives in the devastating mass shooting, took just 12 minutes to open the scoring against Western Sydney Wanderers.

The Phoenix ran 3-1 victors over Western Sydney Wanderers FC. The new A-League Golden Boot leader, with 15 goals to his name, picked off an errant pass from Tate Russell and fired home on a tight angle. He then walked past the dead ball line and dropped to his knees. The Fijian international, whose wife Naziah Ali is Muslim, paid tribute to the victims of the worst terrorist attack New Zealand has ever seen, after a gunman opened fire on two Christchurch mosques.

It was the same tribute used by All Whites striker Kosta Barbarouses, when he scored the first of his two goals in Melbourne Victory’s 2-1 win over Brisbane Roar.

A minute’s silence was held before the Phoenix’s match against the eighth-place Wanderers. Players from both teams wore black armbands and stood united in a circle on the halfway line prior to kickoff. Dave Dobbyn’s Welcome Home echoed around Westpac Stadium as opposition players linked arms before fading out for the minute’s silence. Phoenix captain Andrew Durante had his arm around Wanderers player Tarek Elrich, who himself is a Muslim.

Among the 50 people who lost their lives in the mass shooting was New Zealand futsal representative Atta Elayyan.

Krishna tweeted on game day that the players were feeling the country’s pain.

“Probably one of the most difficult days for us to take on the field while we know that our fellow countrymen (including those like me who came from my homeland Fiji to NZ) are dealing with the horrific events of the Christchurch attack. Our hearts are with you. We are one,” Krishna said.

Yellow Fever, the Phoenix’s supporters group, planned to pay their respects by singing T tira mai on the 50th minute mark.

Sunday’s game is the first Phoenix game at Westpac Stadium for 50 days. The Phoenix can open up a threepoint lead on fifth-place Adelaide United if they manage to beat the Wanderers.

Defender Steven Taylor is unavailable through injury and midfielder Sarpreet Singh is suspended.

-Stuff