Everton to silence air-raid siren out of respect for Ukraine internationals

Everton are expected to silence the air-raid siren that sounds before matches at Goodison Park when Manchester City visit on Saturday out of consideration for the Ukraine internationals Vitalii Mykolenko and Oleksandr Zinchenko. The move comes amid support from several Premier League clubs for players affected by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

West Ham’s manager David Moyes has given the former Ukraine captain Andriy Yarmolenko time off after the attack on his country, with the winger not in the right frame of mind to play against Wolves on Sunday.

“He’s not in a very good position at the moment,” Moyes said. “We’ve given him a few days off. We’ll do all we can to help him – it’s a really difficult time for him and his family. I spoke with him yesterday and he was upset, which you can imagine. We just hope his family keep safe.”

Two Ukraine internationals could be involved when Everton host the Premier League leaders. The club has sounded an air-raid siren before its traditional Z-Cars theme as a way of galvanising the Goodison crowd in recent seasons but that is likely to be dropped given the situation in Ukraine.

Mykolenko, who joined Everton only last month from Dynamo Kyiv, has written on social media about the worry of being unable to help his parents back home. Several Everton supporters’ groups have produced a banner that features the 22-year-old, his country’s colours and the words “We stand with Ukraine” for Saturday’s game.

Frank Lampard says a decision on whether to select Mykolenko against City will be down to the player. “I wouldn’t try to force him into a direction,” the Everton manager said. “The decision will be his. The feeling I get is that by coming here and feeling our support in training, it is a