The two sides held the banner to show their support for Ukraine
The players of Napoli and Barcelona both held a banner in support of Ukraine which read ‘Stop war’ ahead of their Europa League second leg clash on Thursday.
Barcelona and Napoli players displayed a banner that read 'STOP WAR' before their Europa League match. pic.twitter.com/TCYWiPLbij
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) February 24, 2022
Players from both sides joined together at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona as they posed together to show their support for Ukraine.
Teams across Europe have shown their support for Ukraine ahead of their fixtures after Russian launched a full-scale invasion on Ukraine after Russian president Vladimir Putin ordered his troops to cross the border on multiple fronts.
It’s been reported that ‘hundreds’ of Ukrainian troops have already been killed whilst harrowing video footage has shown Russian aircraft firing missiles across the sky and into several airports. Multiple explosions have also been heard in cities across the country.
Atalanta midfielder Ruslan Malinovskyi revealed a shirt underneath his top which read “No war in Ukraine” after he scored in his side’s Europa League second leg tie against Olympiacos in Greece.
Benfica’s Roman Yaremchuk also showed support for his fellow countrymen, unveiling the trident emblem in support of his homeland after he scored in their draw against Ajax in the Champions League on Wednesday night.
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Meanwhile, Manchester City defender Oleksandr Zinchenko claimed that Instagram had deleted a post in which he hoped Vladimir Putin suffers the ‘most painful suffering death,’ responding by saying he ‘can’t stand back’ while ‘the whole civilised world is concerned about my country.’
Russian international Fedor Smolov became the first high-profile Russian sportsman to come out and publicly condemn his country’s president’s actions in a post which read: “No to war” followed by the Ukrainian flag.
Related links:
- Ruslan Malinovskyi reveals shirt reading ‘No war in Ukraine’ after Atalanta goal
- Poland, Sweden and Czech Republic issue joint statement against playing in Russia
- Russian forces enter Chernobyl to seize nuclear plant, says Ukraine president
