Embracing in solidarity, upset rival Ukrainian stars of Premier League
UKRAINIAN Premier League football players Vitalli Mykolenko and Oleksandr Zinchenko embraced before Everton played Manchester City in the Premier League last night as thousands of fans showed their support for the players’ homeland.
During the warm-up before kick-off at Everton’s Goodison Park stadium, Manchester City defender Zinchenko jogged over to his countryman before the two hugged.
Clearly emotional, the 25-year-old then beat his heart before both men saluted fans by clapping their hands above their heads – a gesture which the crowd repaid with enthusiastic applause.
A few minutes later, as the two teams lined up before the opening whistle, each member of the Everton team draped a Ukrainian flag over their shoulders and Manchester City’s players wore speciallymade T-shirts bearing an image of Ukraine’s flag above the message: ‘NO WAR.’
After the match, which Manchester City won 1-0, the team’s manager Pep Guardiola thanked the fans for their reaction to the embrace.
He told Sky Sports: ‘Thank you so much to all the people at Goodison Park… I was so emotional.’
It came as the sporting world united to object to the Russian invasion.
At Twickenham, where England played Wales in the Six Nations, a huge LED screen bore the firm message, ‘England and Wales strongly condemn the aggressive invasion of Ukraine. We stand in solidarity with them’.
Meanwhile, billionaire Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich handed the club to a charitable foundation after fears the premier league club would go bust if he was hit with sanctions.
His move last night came after the UK parliament was told he had been named as a person of interest in 2019 because of alleged links to the Russian state and alleged ‘association with corrupt activity and practices’.