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'Stop it, Putin', 'No war please': How sport is reacting to Russian invasion of Ukraine

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Agence France-Presse

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Ukraine team-mates Vitaliy Mykolenko (Everton) and Oleksandr Zinchenko (Manchester City) warm up as substitutes during the match. Jason Cairnduff, Action Images via Reuters" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/reuters/02/27/fb-ukraine.jpg"/><figcaption>Ukraine team-mates Vitaliy Mykolenko (Everton) and Oleksandr Zinchenko (Manchester City) warm up as substitutes during the match. <em>Jason Cairnduff, Action Images via Reuters</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>PARIS, France -- Russia&#x27;s invasion of Ukraine has sparked widespread reaction in the sports world, with athletes condemning Moscow&#x27;s actions while calls increase for the country to be isolated from international competition.</p><p>AFP Sport looks at the main developments:</p><div><strong>FOOTBALL</strong></div><p>-- Saint Petersburg stripped as hosts of UEFA&#x27;s Champions League final set for May 28. The game has been switched to the Stade de France in Paris.</p><p>-- Poland and Sweden say they will not play Russia in next month&#x27;s 2022 World Cup play-offs. Polish captain Robert Lewandowski tweets: &quot;The right decision. I cannot imagine playing a match with the Russian national team in a situation when armed aggression in Ukraine continues.&quot;</p><p>-- Ukraine team-mates Vitaliy Mykolenko of Everton and Manchester City&#x27;s Oleksandr Zinchenko embraced before their Premier League game at Goodison Park. </p><p>Zinchenko was in tears as the crowd unveiled banners including one that read &quot;We stand with Ukraine&quot;. Manchester United and Watford players stand together with a sign saying &quot;peace&quot; in six languages ahead of their game at Old Trafford.</p><p>-- German club Schalke 04 remove Russian gas company Gazprom from its shirts. In place of the sponsor, players carried the team name across their shirts.</p><p>-- The roof of Eintracht Frankfurt&#x27;s stadium was lit in Ukraine&#x27;s national colours of blue and yellow. Electronic signs at the ground read &quot;Stop it, Putin!&quot;. Bayern Munich wore black armbands. The only exception was Munich captain Lewandowski, who wore a yellow and blue armband.</p><p>-- Real Madrid goalkeeper Andriy Lunin was said by head coach Carlo Ancelotti to be &quot;down in the dumps as he is anxious with his mother and friends living in Kyiv&quot;. </p><p>&quot;My grandfather experienced World War I, my father lived through World War II, and they told me lots of stories about them,&quot; said Ancelotti. &quot;It (war) is a horror, full stop.&quot;</p><div><strong>FORMULA ONE</strong></div><p>-- The Russian Grand Prix, scheduled for September 25, is cancelled, a day after defending world champion Max Verstappen and four-time champion Sebastian Vettel publicly declared their opposition to driving in the race. </p><p>Red Bull driver Verstappen said: &quot;When a country is at war, it&#x27;s not right to run there.&quot; Vettel added: &quot;For myself, my own opinion is I should not go, I will not go. I think it&#x27;s wrong to race in the country.&quot;</p><p>-- American Formula One team Haas decided not to sport the Russian colours of its title sponsor Uralkali during the last day of pre-season testing in Barcelona on Friday. Haas, whose cars usually sport the blue, white and red colours of the Russian flag, ran in a plain white livery.</p><p>-- Haas have a Russian driver, Nikita Mazepin. Uralkali, a group specializing in potash, has the driver&#x27;s father, businessman Dmitry, as its non-executive director.</p><div><strong>BOXING</strong></div><p>-- Boxing&#x27;s four major sanctioning bodies -- the International Boxing federation, World Boxing Council, World Boxing Association and World Boxing Organization -- said in a joint statement Saturday they will not sanction bouts in Russia.</p><p>&quot;Just as the world claims for cease of fire, our organizations have decided to not sanction any boxing championships in Russia. Just as this war has put a stop of boxing in Ukraine, our organizations will not sanction fights in Russia until further assessment of the situation,&quot; their statement said.</p><div><strong>TENNIS</strong></div><p>-- At the Dubai ATP event, Russia&#x27;s Andrey Rublev marked his semi-final win over Hubert Hurkacz by signing the camera lens on court with the message, &quot;No war please&quot;, clearly stating his feelings about his nation&#x27;s invasion of Ukraine.</p><p>-- A second-tier ATP Challenger event, planned for Moscow from February 28, is scrapped.</p><p>-- Ukraine player Dayana Yastremska said she and her family had spent two nights sheltering underground in Odessa. &quot;After spending two nights in the underground parking, my parents made a decision at any cost to send me and my little sister out of Ukraine! Mom,Dad, we love you very much, take care of yourself!!! I love you my country,&quot; the former top-25 player wrote.</p><p>-- Poland&#x27;s Iga Swiatek swept aside Anett Kontaveit in the Qatar Open final and dedicated her victory to &quot;the people who are suffering in Ukraine&quot;. &quot;I want to show my support to all the people who are suffering in Ukraine,&quot; the 20-year-old former French Open champion said. &quot;Seeing those images is really emotional for me. I wouldn&#x27;t even imagine stuff happening like that in the country next to me.&quot;</p><div><strong>IOC </strong></div><p>-- The International Olympic Committee, angry at the Russian invasion of Ukraine breaching the &#x27;Olympic Truce&#x27;, urged all international sports federations to cancel their forthcoming events in Russia.</p><div><strong>© Agence France-Presse</strong></div>

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has sparked widespread reaction in the sports world. 