Another three Argentinean football players from Ukraine’s Metalist Kharkiv FC decided against returning to conflict-hit Ukraine and stay in Argentina citing security concerns, local Argentinean media reported on Tuesday.
Midfielders Alejandro Gomez, Jose Sosa and forward Jonatan Cristaldo are currently staying in Argentina’s Buenos Aires. Their Metalist FC teammate and compatriot Sebastian Blanco also refused earlier to return to Ukraine.
“There is no sense remaining in the country [in Ukraine], where we do not feel secure,” Gomez told local media. “We are going to remain in Argentina either until the situation stabilizes or until our contracts cancelled.”
The Argentinean midfielder said the catastrophe with the Malaysia Airlines aircraft, which crashed in southeastern Ukraine last Thursday killing all 298 people on board, was the “last straw to break the camel’s back” forcing three of them to make such decision.
“I have a wife and a little son and I cannot subject their lives to danger,” Gomez said adding that he along with Sosa and Cristaldo count on Metalist FC managers and FIFA executives’ understanding.
The foreign players’ refusal to continue playing for Ukrainian football clubs is not the first in the recent days.
Six foreign players from the Dontesk Shakhtar FC skipped the plane back to Ukraine after a friendly against Lyon FC on Saturday and decided to remain in France rather than returning to conflict stricken Ukraine also citing security concerns.
Brazilian's Douglas Costa, Fred, Dentinho, Alex Teixiera, Ismaily and Argentinian Facundo Ferreyra had their combined transfer deals at the Shakhtar FC worth a total of 57 million euros ($77 million).
CNN reported on Sunday that Shakhtar president Rinat Akhmetov threatened with financial penalties for the players in case they refuse to continue playing for the club, which is scheduled to play rivals Dynamo Kiev on Tuesday.
"Players have contracts that they have to abide by,” CNN quoted Akhmetov as saying. “If they do not come, I think, they will be the first to suffer. Each of them has a minimum release clause, which is tens of millions of euro.”
"If someone wants to reduce this amount by a million, then such a decision is our right," he added.
AP news agency reported on Tuesday citing 23-year-old Brazilian midfielder Douglas Costa that Shakhtar FC foreign players, who went AWOL from the club on Saturday, wanted to practice in Switzerland while the conflict continues in Ukraine and they were not seeking transfers to other football clubs.
"I like the club, the people, the city, but I'm afraid," AP quoted Costa as saying on his Instagram account. "We want to stay at the club, but we must have risk-free working conditions."
Costa added that he and his teammates are "all run a deadly risk if we are in the region."
Commenting on the situation on Monday, Russian sports lawyer Mikhail Prokopets said it would be up either to FIFA’s Dispute Resolution Chamber or the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Switzerland’s Lausanne to resolve the situation with six AWOL football players.
“An employer must provide safety for the players and it is an issue open for debates whether the safety was provided or not. Both the administration of the Shakhtar FC and its players have arguments in their favor,” he said.
Don't know if 'patriotic' is the right word to use here...
Perhaps there is a better word to describe it, but I do not know it.
I meself have noticed how some White low class men here will persue the typical petite asian type, maybe cos they are tired of what they have at home, but maybe, just maybe (bare with me here) they are desperate and no decent woman in their own land will lay with them.
Some others seem deeply wounded on their ego if a foreigner makes a pass at them.
PurpleRain_ Forum Posts (27)
one must pronounce 'voice' as 'vice'
detective Peach 
RE: what you think is important in life?
Cos we are crazy