Arsenal star Oleksandr Zinchenko spoke passionately about Russia’s invasion of his homeland Ukraine and demanded a complete ban on all Russian and Belarusian athletes from top-tier sports. Zinchenko, who expressed concerns for the safety of his loved ones in Ukraine, also revealed how the entire episode took a toll on him and his nation as a whole.
Speaking to TalkTV host Piers Morgan, Zinchenko recalled how Russia began the invasion of Ukraine and shared his thoughts on the situation in his homeland.
“My wife suddenly woke me up. And she said, ‘It started’. I said ‘What started?’ She was crying, you know, like flooding tears.
“I said ‘What’s started, what’s wrong?’ And she showed me the pictures of this invasion,” said the Arsenal defender.
Morgan then spoke about how Wimbledon has decided to reverse the ban on Russian and Belarusian players and asked the former Man City starto speak on the matter.
“I don’t agree,” said Zinchenko before adding, “I am one of the Ukrainians who doesn’t like to see them in the highest level of any sport. For sure they should be banned. 100% they shouldn’t be allowed. Why? Because how many bombs and rockets are being sent from Belarus? How many?”
“Listen I’m not political. I don’t understand anything about it [politics], I don’t understand, and I would never understand. Because this is not my area. But, this is not political. It is war,” he said.
Zinchenko also said that he wouldn’t shake the hands of athletes from those countries.
“I will never accept their reaction. I have to be honest. You can say ‘they didn’t do anything’. Yes they did, they didn’t react,” he said.
“They have millions of followers behind them and chances to speak out. If you have 10million followers on Instagram saying ‘Stop It’, some people from that 10million will spread it. And it will work in the end. But if no one is going to speak out because they’re scared, do not call us brothers. Never again.” he said.
Zinchenko also stated he would fight for his country Ukraine. “There will be a time everyone will be there. It will be the last call. All of us will go, everyone will go. Today, I’m much more helpful from here, but you never know what’s going to happen,” he said.
