July 25 – The players of Ukraine’s Oleksandria refused to shake hands with those of Serbia’s Partizan Belgrade before the match between the two teams in the second round of the UEFA Conference League.
Before the match Oleksandria head coach Kiril Nesterenko warned at the pre-match press conference that they would make a statement over Serbia’s support for Russia’s invasion of their country.
In addition to refusing to shake hands with their Serbian opponents, the Ukrainian players took to the field wrapped in Ukrainian flags.
The match was played in the Polish city of Katowice as Oleksandria’s home leg due to the ongoing military operations in Ukraine.
Nesterenko also expressed indignation over the Partizan team who took part in a friendly tournament in Moscow together with the teams from the Russian capital Rodina, CSKA and Dinamo. A similar incident occurred last season, when Dynamo Kiev players also refused to shake hands with Partizan players.
“I want to explain the situation in our country and we want to thank our soldiers for the opportunity to be here today and represent our country. I want to say that everyone should know what is happening in our country, people are dying every day, and the Russian Federation is the aggressor. We do not support the Partizan football club in any way, given that they participated in the tournament in Russia. The club considers this an act of hostility towards our club. This is the position of the club and the people of Ukraine,” Nesterenko said.
Partizan won the match 2:0. The second leg will be played in Belgrade is next week.
Contact the writer of this story, Aleksander Krassimirov, at moc.l1753510945labto1753510945ofdlr1753510945owedi1753510945sni@o1753510945fni1753510945