West Ham’s Ukrainian forward Andriy Yarmolenko has called out Russian players for their silence on Vladamir Putin’s invasion of his homeland as he referenced national team captain Artem Dzyuba’s infamous sex tape.
Russia invaded Ukraine last Thursday in what it called a special operation to demilitarise and ‘denazify’ the country – a justification dismissed by Kyiv and the West as propaganda.
Yarmolenko, who is his country’s third most-capped player of all time, was granted compassionate leave by West Ham on Sunday and he therefore missed their win over Wolves, but all of his team-mates wore shirts with his name on the back during their warm-up.
Following the weekend’s Premier League action, the 32-year-old reportedly made a huge £75,000 donation to his country’s Armed Forces.
But Yarmolenko took his support of his homeland one step further on Wednesday as he took to Instagram to slam Russian footballers for remaining silent in the wake of the violence.
He posted a video to his profile, tagging players, including Russia captain Artem Dzyuba, Atalanta’s Aleksei Miranchuk and Valencia’s Denis Cheryshev.
West Ham’s Ukrainian forward Andriy Yarmolenko has called out Russian players for their silence on Vladamir Putin’s invasion of his homeland
Yarmolenko is Ukraine’s third most-capped player ever and has scored 44 times for his country
The forward has been granted compassionate leave and West Ham players wore shirts with his name on the back during their warm-up ahead of the game against Wolves at the weekend
Yarmolenko also tagged former Arsenal forward Andrey Arshavin, Dynamo Moscow’s Arsen Zakharyan and Spartak Moscow’s Zelimkhan Bakaev, among others.
He urged the Russian players to unite and ‘show their balls in real life’ – in reference to a leaked 2020 video, which allegedly showed Dzyuba masturbating.
‘I’m Andriy Yarmolenko, a Ukrainian national player, I was born in Saint Petersburg but grew up in Ukraine and regard myself as 100 per cent Ukrainian,’ Yarmolenko said in the Instagram clip.
Declan Rice held a shirt carrying Yarmolenko’s name, with the forward missing the match
Yarmolenko has reportedly made a huge £75,000 donation to Ukraine’s Armed Forces
The 32-year-old tagged a number of Russian footballers, including captain Artem Dzyuba
‘I have a question for Russian players. Guys, why are you sitting like s***heads, and not saying anything?
‘In my country they’re killing people, killing wives, killing mothers, killing our children. But you saying nothing, you’ve given no comments.
‘Tell me please, what will happen if all of you together, united, show the people what is really happening in my country.
‘I know a lot of you, I’m familiar with many of you and you all told me “it shouldn’t be like this”, that your president is acting incorrectly.
‘So guys, you have influence over the people, show this, I am asking you, please!
‘I know some of you like to show your balls on camera but now the time’s come to show your balls in real life.
‘Thank you for your attention! Glory to Ukraine.’
Yarmolenko tagged Dzyuba (left) and Atalanta star Aleksei Miranchuk (right) in the post
Yarmolenko urged the players to ‘show their balls’ in reference to Dzyuba’s leaked 2020 video of him performing a sex act
It comes after Dzyuba and his men were kicked out of the Qatar World Cup by FIFA, with Poland given a bye to a qualifying play-off final against Sweden or Czech Republic later this month.
FIFA had appeared reluctant to expel Russia from the World Cup given president Gianni Infantino’s close links to Vladimir Putin but on Sunday they made it clear that they would be guided by the IOC — and that the sporting world should be united in response to the invasion of Ukraine.
The Premier League showed its support for Ukraine at the weekend with Ukrainian flags being held aloft throughout stands at stadiums, while Liverpool and Chelsea carried wreaths prior to their Carabao Cup final clash.
Yarmolenko was among a number of Ukrainian footballers to have united in a passionate video plea to urge fans, players and coaches to ‘stop the destruction and bloodshed’ in their homeland following Russia’s devastating invasion.
The players, also including Oleksandr Zinchenko and Vitaliy Mykolenko, have filmed themselves speaking into the camera to deliver a message they hope will bring about the end of the war.
It comes after the Russian national team were kicked out of the Qatar World Cup by FIFA
A host of Ukrainian footballers have issued a heartfelt plea to stop the war in their homeland
On Saturday, Everton’s Mykolenko and Manchester City’s Zinchenko walked out with Ukraine flags draped around them and embraced prior to Saturday’s league match between the two sides.
Earlier this week, Everton left-back Mykolenko launched a similar scathing attack on Russian players.
In a post on Instagram, the 22-year-old slammed Russia captain Dzyuba and his ‘s***head team-mates’ for not speaking out against Putin’s invasion, claiming they will be ‘locked away in a dungeon for the rest of your life’.
‘Whilst you remain silent b**** along with your s***head football team-mates, peaceful civilians are being killed in Ukraine,’ Mykolenko – who joined Everton in January from Dynamo Kyiv – posted.
‘You will be locked in your dungeon for the rest of your life and most importantly the lives of your kids. And I’m glad.’
Vitaliy Mykolenko has criticised the Russian team for their silence since the invasion of Ukraine
Meanwhile, Zinchenko last week uploaded a photo of Putin captioned: ‘I hope you die the most painful suffering death, creature,’ as Russia launched a full-scale invasion of his homeland.
It was then alleged that Zinchenko’s swiftly deleted post had disappeared from Instagram without his knowledge.
Zinchenko then joined a vigil outside Manchester’s Central Library on Thursday evening, and was visibly upset on the day, as well as two days later when he was seen shedding tears before kick-off at Goodison Park.
Putin’s invasion has entered its seventh day with renewed attacks on all fronts including an expected assault on the city of Zaporizhzhia, which houses Europe’s largest nuclear power plant.
And FIFA’s latest move is just one of many in the sporting world which has seen Russia cast into the sporting wilderness, with their athletes and national teams barred from international competitions with immediate effect.
Vladimir Putin’s invasion has entered its seventh day with renewed attacks on all fronts
Oleksandr Zinchenko says he hopes Vladimir Putin suffers the ‘most painful suffering death’ in a post that Instagram have since taken down, according to the Manchester City defender
Zinchenko also joined a vigil outside Manchester’s Central Library on Thursday evening
UEFA are almost certain to kick Russia out of the women’s Euros in England this summer, when they are due to play group matches against Holland, Switzerland and Sweden and could have faced England in the semi-finals.
Meanwhile in the Europa League, Spartak Moscow were removed with German side RB Leipzig advancing to the quarter-finals as a result.
UEFA also terminated a sponsorship deal worth £33.5million a year with Russian energy company Gazprom, while Manchester United cancelled their £40m sponsorship deal with Russian state-owned airline Aeroflot.
The IOC recommended similar bans be introduced by all sports, with the possible exception of the Winter Paralympics due to the proximity of the Games, which begin in Beijing on Friday.
Russian domestic sport and leagues were permitted to continue.
In Formula One, Nikita Mazepin, who is the son of a billionaire oligarch with close links to Russian president Putin, was allowed to continue to drive for the Haas team but only under a neutral flag.
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk