A player for Ukrainian Premier League leaders Dynamo Kyiv has ignited the ire of the club's supporters by sharing a pro-Russia post on social media.
Ukraine has been at war with Russia for more than ten years. Russia occupied and annexed Crimea in 2014 and invaded Ukraine eight years later.
The brutal conflict has been responsible for massive and tragic loss of life in Ukraine, whose people have now spent years fighting to defend Ukraine against the Russian military.
Football cannot be separated from the war. Players have been killed and clubs displaced, while supporters all over the country have volunteered.
Advert
Consequently, Ukraine's football clubs are supported by people who have had direct involvement in combat or have personal connections to others who have.
Footballers, especially those from abroad, must be extremely careful about where and how they insert themselves into the most sensitive of subjects.
Dynamo fans have turned on striker Vladislav Blanuta, a 23-year-old Moldovan-Romanian, after it was discovered that the new signing had reposted TikTok videos from a Russian propagandist.
Advert
"In 2023, the forward shared a ranting post by Vladimir Solovyov, a Russian broadcaster who is considered by many as one of the main sources of Putin regime propaganda," reports The Guardian.
"Solovyov, who hosts TV and radio programmes, fiercely supports the war in Ukraine and frequently makes threatening or aggressive statements regarding other countries. In the speech reposted by Blanuta, he labelled the Moldovan authorities as 'enemies of the people' and 'satanist scum'.
"Blanuta had also shared music from a Russian TV series called Brigada, which has been banned in Ukraine since 2015 because some of its actors are seen as being part of the Russian propaganda machine.
"There had been reports in the Romanian press that Blanuta wanted a move to a Russian club and that it was only stopped by the U Craiova president."
Advert
Dynamo have defended the signing of Blanuta on the thinnest of football grounds, pointing out that they needed a striker and it's difficult to persuade foreign players to move to Ukraine to play for the capital club.
Blanuta is 'young and talented' and Dynamo didn't carry out a full background check, by their own admission, because they didn't want to run out of time before naming their squad for the Conference League.
That won't be enough to pacify Vladyslav Dunaienko, one of the Dynamo fans quoted by Michael Yokhin.
Advert
"I am active in the military with a Dynamo symbol tattooed on my chest," he said. "I went into battle with a Dynamo badge on my body. Quality of play is less important than the ideas and principles the club must stand for. I won’t agree with the fact that such a player would be part of my club."
Blanuta claimed that he didn't know what he was sharing and is 'pro-Ukraine'.
Topics: Football
Chris Nee