Ukrainian giants Shakhtar Donetsk have confirmed that a coach in their ranks has passed away after he was hit by a “Russian bullet”.
The football world has severely punished Russia after Vladimir Putin decided to invade Ukraine, with the Eastern European nation facing several bans from various football organisations while a number of managers have also resigned from their roles at clubs in the country.
However, the war has continued to escalate, with two footballers, Vitalii Sapylo and Dmytro Martynenko, recently losing their lives.
“Our thoughts are with the families, friends and teammates of young Ukrainian footballers Vitalii Sapylo and Dmytro Martynenko, football’s first reported losses in this war. May they both rest in peace,” FIFPRO, the worldwide representative organisation for more than 65 000 professional footballers, said in a statement.
Following the duo’s tragic passing, Shakhtar CEO Serhiy Palkin has now released a statement declaring that one of their youth coaches has lost his life while defending the nation’s sovereignty.
“One of our employees was killed yesterday,” he said, per the Daily Star.
“He was a children’s coach.
“He was killed by a fragment of a Russian bullet.”
The Shakhtar CEO also pleaded with Russian citizens to speak out against their military.
“In sports, fear is the feeling that reduces the probability of victory to zero,” he continued in the statement.
“Your fear of speaking out against the war in Ukraine is destroyed cities, your fear is thousands and thousands of deaths among the civilian population, your fear is the death of children and the mutilated fate of millions of people.
“Your fear of opposing the bloody regime is your greatest defeat.”
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