The suspension of the Ukrainian soccer league, the transfer of the Davis Cup to Turkey, the desire to leave the country of foreign athletes who play for local clubs and, conversely, the uncertainty about how those who competed will return home Outside, in the case of the men’s basketball team in Córdoba, these are the first effects of the war in Ukraine on sports.
International sports organizations are studying how to deal with the consequences of the conflict opened by Russia, the country in charge of organizing, among other events, the next Champions League final in Saint Petersburg.
From the world’s leading sports institution, the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which considers the attacks a violation of the Olympic truce in force for the Beijing Games, to the captain of the Ukrainian soccer team, Oleksandr Zinchenko, who has wished Vladimir Putin “the most painful of deaths”, the reactions of condemnation have followed one another in the sports community.
The IOC recalled that the Olympic truce, signed unanimously by all the member states of the United Nations on the occasion of Beijing 2022, extends until the end of the Paralympic Games, on March 13, for which it “strongly” condemned its “non-compliance”. by the Russian government.”
The body has created a working group “to closely monitor the situation and coordinate humanitarian assistance to members of the Olympic community in Ukraine where possible.”
The Ukrainian Olympic Committee, chaired by the expert Sergey Bubka, gave several athletes a voice on their social networks to make calls for peace.
“Ukraine is my homeland! We are all united in wanting to live happily and in peace in our country. No one has the right to deprive us of our homes, our dreams, our lives… No to war!” cried athlete Anna Ryzhykova, Olympic bronze medalist in 2012 in the 4×400 relay.
But the first effect that fans will notice will be the suspension of the Ukrainian football first division, the country’s main club competition, as martial law is imposed.
The tournament was going to resume this Friday after the winter break with the match between Minaj and Zorya Luhansk, while the two big clubs fighting for the title, Shakhtar Donetsk and Dinamo Kiev had to play on Saturday against Metalist 1925 Kharkiv and the Inhulets, respectively.
Far from home, in Manchester City, Oleksandr Zinchenko plays, who in addition to wishing the Russian president the worst, questioned all the citizens of the attacking country: “Russians, is it okay to wake up in fascist Germany? Every Russian who does not express his opinion on this issue will be considered an enemy forever.”
FIFA focuses its concerns on the European qualifying play-off for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Poland must visit Russia on March 24 in the semifinal of route B. Ukraine has to visit Scotland in route A.
UEFA, for its part, will hold an extraordinary meeting of its Executive Committee this Friday to assess the situation, with its mind set on the Champions League final on May 28.
If it is agreed to change the venue, it would be the third consecutive edition to be relocated. In the previous two it was because of the pandemic.
The qualifying match for the 2023 Basketball World Cup that Ukraine and Spain were to play next Saturday is also postponed.
The team led by Ainar Bagatskis is in Córdoba to play tonight and before the invasion began, it declared itself “without encouragement” and suspended the usual morning training session on match day.
Although the Euroleague announced that it would continue with the planned calendar as long as there was no risk for the participants, Barça decided not to travel to Saint Petersburg today to face Zenit this Friday.
“Several meetings with the parties involved are planned this afternoon and a decision will be made in the coming hours,” said the club, which was also due to face CSKA on Sunday in Moscow.
Three clubs from the affected region are competing in this competition: Zenit Saint Petersburg, CSKA Moscow and Unics Kazan
Likewise, the Ukraine-Barbados tie for Group I of the Davis Cup, which was to be played on March 4 and 5, has been taken out of Ukrainian territory. It will be played in the Turkish town of Antalya.
The European Handball Federation (EHF) has already taken action on matches in continental competitions given the turn that the conflict had taken. The body assured that it did not see “currently any option to be able to play matches in Ukraine.”
Thus, the meeting between the Ukrainian Motor and Barça, from the thirteenth day of the Champions League scheduled for March 3 in Zaporozhye, was moved to the Slovak city of Presov.
In addition, the match between HC Motor itself and Paris Saint Germain, which should have been played on the 17th, was also moved to Presov on March 1.
The qualifying match for this year’s European Women’s Championship, which was due to face the Ukrainian and Czech Republic teams on March 2 in Zaporozhye, will also not be played on Ukrainian territory. It will be played on March 4 in the Czech city of Olomuc.
Likewise, the EHF will be in charge of organizing the matches of the first round of the qualifying phase for the Men’s World Cup in Poland and Sweden 2023, which will face the Ukrainian and Finnish teams in the middle of next March.
Foreign athletes playing for Ukrainian clubs try at all costs to leave the country by their own means or are waiting for help from their embassies.
Spaniard Lluís Cortés, coach of the Ukrainian women’s football team and former FC Barcelona women’s coach, and physical trainer Jordi Escura are heading to Lviv, in the west of the country, to cross the border with Poland.
“The situation is chaotic because there is a lot of traffic and we are moving very slowly, but we are fine and in contact with the Spanish embassy,” they said.
The Brazilian players who play for Dinamo Kiev and Shakhtar Donetsk have publicly asked, together with their families, for help to leave Ukraine. after the start of the war with Russia.
“The situation is very serious for all our friends and family. We are stuck in Kiev and waiting for a solution. We are inside a hotel. Pray for us,” Shakhtar player Junior Moraes said.
Another example is that of the Paraguayan José Ariel López, trapped in Odessa, who closed his airspace as a result of the military action undertaken by Russia. The player arrived there on February 5 to join the Real Pharma club, from the local second division.
Several Ukrainian soccer players play in Spain and received the unconditional support of their teammates during the day.
Real Madrid conveyed all its love to its goalkeeper Andriy Lunin and made itself available for anything he and his family need in Ukraine at this time.
The same thing happened with Roman Zozulya, a Fuenlabrada player, or with Orest Lebedenko, from Lugo.
Russia’s attack also brought to the spotlight the case of Yaroslav Rakitskyy, the only Ukrainian among the 25 players registered in UEFA by the Russian Zenit Saint Petersburg who today faces Betis at the Benito Villamarín in the second leg of the round of 32 of the Europa League. (D)
More news about the conflict between Russia and Ukraine
Source: Eluniverso
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