The conflict that has erupted in the last few hours brings with it many problems for sporting events involving Russia
“Due to the imposition of martial law, the Ukrainian championship was suspended“. This is the official statement from the local football association after the Russian attack in the last few hours. The Ukrainian Premier League should have restarted on Friday 25 February, with the advance of the first day between Minaj and Zorya. The consequences of the war, in short, obviously concern sport as well Champions League final scheduled for May 28 at the Gazprom Arena in St.Pietroburgo e i access playoff to the soccer world cup in Qatar.
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LUCESCU: “REST, I’M NOT A COWARD”
Mircea Lucescu, Dynamo Kiev coach, spoke to Fanatik: “I hope this war stops as soon as possible, I won’t leave Kiev. I’m not a coward.”
MAGNANI: “I’m not afraid for my life”
“When I left for Ukraine I was aware of the risks, but I didn’t think the war would come so quickly. Before I left, I had reassurance that it would not happen. Evidently, diplomacy has not been able to curb the impulse for expansion. of Putin “. He says it Massimo Magnani, former technical director of FIDAL, from the Ukrainian city of Poltava, about 300 kilometers east of Kiev, where it is currently located. “My situation is quite calm. I was here for a training course with the staff who organize road races and who are working on the Kiev marathon project. Tonight, the situation has worsened and now the return journey will be a bit. long, because the airspace is closed “, says Magnani. “I have no fears for my life -precise-, here life still flows normal. We are only sorry to see the great concern on the faces of many Ukrainian friends. The future is not so certain for them, they do not know how far Putin wants to go and Ukraine had already paid the price from this point of view in the past “.
THE UEFA DECISIONS
As for the Champions League final, Uefa took steps to clarify after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and a group of MEPs raised doubts as to whether an increasingly isolated Russia could host a sporting event. The leading European football organization replied with a note: “Uefa is constantly and closely monitoring the situation. There are currently no plans to change the location“. As for the world playoffs, which see the home team in Moscow on 24 March against Poland in the first play-off for access to Qatar, the Warsaw Football Association raised the issue of the venue in a public note.
“Political decisions remain in the hands of state authorities and international organizations but, aware of the potential threats linked to the current situation, we await the position of the governing bodies of the world federation. The case concerns not only the Polish national team, but also the national teams of Sweden and the Czech Republic, who could potentially face Russia in Moscow in a possible playoff final ”, this is the note from the Warsaw Football Association.
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