Italy international Matteo Pessina took to social media to reveal the reaction of Aleksey Miranchuk and Ruslan Malinovskyi to the war between their countries: ‘They embraced each other, and we did the same.’
Ukraine international Malinovskyi has been very active on social media since Russia invaded his country last week. He has been sharing links to help the Ukrainian army and videos to raise awareness about the war.
The 28-year-old scored a brace against Olympiacos this past Thursday and celebrated by showing a ‘no to war’ message. He has been playing with Russia international Aleksey Miranchuk since last season and Pessina has revealed how the duo reacted to the war between their countries.
“It may sound like a cliché to hear a footballer say: ‘No to war’. It may sound like a cliché to hear that war is wrong, always. But if it were really like this, we would not be here, in 2022, to repeat it all together,” the former Verona starlet wrote on Instagram.
“I’ve been thinking about it for days, but I can’t give myself an answer: how can it happen after the suffering experienced in the last two years?
“In our locker room, the two people involved in the war have the faces of Ruslan and Aleksey. “Mali” an introverted, helpful guy with a strong character. “Aim” is a simple guy, perhaps the nicest I know. Shy and with passions very similar to mine.
“The other day, as the madness of war set Russia against Ukraine, they embraced at Zingonia. We all embraced them and will continue to do so at this difficult time, as a large family. This is the football that unites what human madness tries to divide. Stop the war in Ukraine!”
Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini revealed on Thursday that he had Malinovski if he felt ready to play against Olympiacos.
“This morning I asked him if he felt ready to play, because he has his parents and other family members in Ukraine at the moment,” he said.
“Football cannot resolve problems, but I hope it can give a small contribution to make everyone feel closer together.”
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