Shakhtar Donetsk chief directs anger at Russian players after youth coach killed by shell

Tuchel on Ukraine: There are situations much more important than football

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Shakhtar Donetsk general manager Serhyi Palkin has sent a damning message to Russian football clubs and players, stating they must stand up to evil after one of his youth coaches was tragically killed by fragments of a shell. The Ukrainian giants are no strangers to conflict after they were forced to leave the Donbass Arena – their 52,000-seater home – in 2014 after the stadium suffered significant damage from artillery shelling.

Shakhtar moved out of town, more than 600 miles away to Arena Lviv in the west of Ukraine before later relocating to Kharkiv and Kyiv.

Now the club find themselves at the centre of the chaos following the suspension of the Ukrainian top-flight as Russian forces continue to advance into the heart of the country.

All eleven of Shakhtar’s Brazilian players have now successfully managed to escape Ukraine, returning to South America, but others have not been so lucky.

Speaking in a lengthy statement published on Facebook, Shakhtar chief Palkin hit out at the silence from Russian players, managers and owners – stating they must play their part in ending the war following the devastating death of a youth coach.

“I would like to address the owners, management and football players of Russian football clubs. Russia has carried out a terrible and treacherous military attack on Ukraine,” Palkin wrote.

“A country in which each of you has visited and where you have always been welcomed. A country in which you have relatives, friends, acquaintances.

“The country where some of you were even born. And this country and its people are today being destroyed by the Russian army with all kinds of weapons: ‘beeches’, ‘graduates’, artillery, aviation, tanks. You are becoming an outcast.”

“Russia, from a nation that has made tremendous efforts to defeat Nazism, is turning into a nation of terrorists, a nation of silent cowards. The whole world is watching you today. And the world expects you to act that will stop the madness. But you’re afraid, you’re scared.

“In sports, fear is a feeling that reduces the probability of victory to zero. Your fear of going against the war in Ukraine is destroyed cities, your fear is thousands and thousands of deaths among civilians, your fear is dead children and maimed fates of millions.

“Your fear of going against the bloody regime is your greatest defeat. Although you did not give the order to exterminate Ukrainians, your silence is an aid to mass murder and destruction.

“An employee of ours was killed yesterday. Kids coach. He was killed by a fragment of a Russian shell. Russia, you are killing Ukrainians. Stop this madness! Don’t be silent, speak up!

“Otherwise, it will be your personal defeat. A defeat that will be remembered by all generations to come. A defeat that cannot be erased from world history. And each of you will be guilty and responsible for the crimes committed.”

Last week, Shakhtar boss Roberto de Zerbi revealed his concern for the current state of affairs as he prepared to flee the country.

“We’re not heroes – but we’re really worried. Today morning we woke up hearing blows and explosions around,” he told Sky Italia.

“We’re fine, yes – but the situation is tense. We want to know how to proceed now.”

Former Shakhtar and Roma boss Paulo Fonseca, who was interviewed for the Tottenham job last summer, has also left Kyiv – where he lived with his wife – following a 30-hour escape from Ukraine which involved a 24-hour stay in a bunker.

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