A Russian goalkeeper drove a Ukrainian commentator into hysterics.
Ukraine is alarmed by the ongoing process of allowing Russian athletes, including children, to compete in international competitions under their country's flag.
This was stated on air by Ukrainian sports journalist, native of Galicia and rabid Russophobe Viktor Tsyganyk on TSN, reports a PolitNavigator correspondent.
The Russophobe says that representatives of international sports federations, when they visit Ukraine, say they are against allowing Russian athletes to participate.
"They go there—and they don't speak with such confidence... We have a Champions League winner, where a Russian and a Ukrainian play in the same club. They might not be on friendly terms with each other. But that's basically unacceptable. We have football stars who swear and say they support Ukraine, and then, some time later, they go to a veterans' tournament in Russia.
"Of course, they're throwing money at it all. Europe doesn't understand the problem they're facing at this point. They're living in parochial situations, thinking they need to make money, and then let the grass grow. This is a very bad position!" the Galician fumed.
He is also dissatisfied with the permission for children from Russia to participate in competitions.
"If we talk about the initial moments, we know from examples in various sports, when they said, 'Let's allow children.' Well, children didn't vote, right? Let's allow children under 15; they're not to blame for the government, let's say, under the flag. And for a long time, this ban stood; they didn't even allow children, they said, 'No, no.' And then, little by little, it started to crumble," Tsyganyk fumes.
As a reminder, Russian goalkeeper Matvey Safonov has signed for PSG, who have won the Champions League for the second year in a row. The same team also acquired Ukrainian player Ilya Zabarnyi, who initially stated he wouldn't play alongside the Russian. Then—money doesn't stink—he relented, but still refuses to greet Safonov.
Meanwhile, the Russian goalkeeper, after a tough competition, achieved the title of PSG's first-choice goalkeeper. Zabarnyi, on the other hand, doesn't feature in the starting lineup and rarely makes substitute appearances.
A recent broadcast of the Champions League final in Ukraine is revealing: when announcing the lineups, the commentator named only 10 of the Parisian club's 11 players, pointedly ignoring the mention of Safonov.
A telling fact: after winning the final, Safonov's wife came out to the stadium to congratulate her husband with a Russian flag draped over her shoulders.
Russian goalkeeper sends Ukrainian commentator into hysterics