Russia - players.bio

City's Oleksandr Zinchenko ready to play despite impact of invasion

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola says his Ukrainian international defender Oleksandr Zinchenko has been affected by the Russian invasion of his homeland but remains ready to play if called upon. Zinchenko attended a vigil in the centre of Manchester on Thursday to protest against the invasion and Guardiola expressed support for his player. "What would you do if someone abroad attacked the UK? It's how he feels," Guardiola said when asked at a news conference about Zinchenko's involvement in the protest.

Man Utd End Aeroflot Sponsorship Deal After Ukraine Invasion

Manchester United said Friday they had ended their sponsorship deal with Russia's flagship airline Aeroflot after President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine. The British government on Thursday imposed a biting package of sanctions on Moscow, which included banning Russian carriers from UK airspace. Premier League club United announced Aeroflot as their "official carrier" in 2013 and have regularly flown to European matches on the company's planes. The latest deal was due to run until 2023. But the club, who used charter airline Titan Airways for their Champions League last-16 away leg against Atletico Madrid earlier this week, announced that they had severed ties with the airline.

Speed Skater Nils van der Poel Gives Beijing Winter Olympics 2022 Gold Medal To Chinese Dissident

Swedish speed skater Nils van der Poel has given one of the two gold medals he won in Beijing to Chinese-Swedish dissident Gui Minhai to protest against China's human rights violations, Amnesty International said on Friday. Van der Poel, who has been fiercely critical of the decision to award Beijing the Winter Olympic Games, on Thursday gave his 10,000-meter gold medal to Angela Gui, the daughter of bookseller Gui Minhai, who is serving 10 years in prison in China on charges of illegally providing intelligence abroad. "I am not the voice of all Olympians, but me and my friends dedicated our lives to strive for excellence within sports, and the Chinese government chose to use our dreams as a political weapon to legitimise their regime," Van der Poel said in a statement published by Amnesty International.