Russia captain Artem Dzyuba slams FIFA ban and hits back at Everton’s Ukrainian defender Vitaliy Mykolenko

Russia’s national team captain Artem Dzyuba says he is ‘against any war’ but has hit out at the sanctions towards his nation’s athletes.

In response to Vladimir Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine, leading sports governing bodies around the world have moved to prevent Russian athletes and teams from competing.

FIFA and UEFA announced this week that Russia will no longer be in with a chance of qualifying for the World Cup later this year, while Spartak Moscow have been kicked out of the Europa League.

Dzyuba, meanwhile, has been personally criticised by Everton’s Ukrainian defender Vitaliy Mykolenko for not speaking out against Russia’s invasion of his homeland.

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But while the 33-year-old, who was born in Moscow, has hit back at Mykolenko and says he is ‘proud to be Russian’.

‘I did not want to comment on the topic of events in Ukraine. I didn’t want to not because I’m afraid, but because I’m not an expert in politics, I’ve never gotten into it or was going to (unlike a lot of political scientists and virologists who have recently appeared on the internet),’ Dzyuba wrote on Instagram.

‘But I, like any person, have my own opinion. Since I am attracted to this topic from all sides, I will express it.

‘I’m against any war. War is a scary thing. But I am also against human aggression and hatred, which is gaining some extreme scale every day.

‘I’m not ashamed to be Russian. I’m proud to be Russian and I don’t understand why athletes have to suffer now.

‘I’m against double standards. Why one can do everything, but they hand all dogs on us?

‘Why did everyone always scream about sports outside politics, but at the earliest opportunity, when it comes to