Zenit drop Ukrainian player for Europa League tie after speaking out about Russian war

dailystar.co.uk:

Europa League encounter with Real Betis following a social media post he made.The Ukrainian Yaroslav Rakitskyi posted a picture of his country's flag on his Instagram along with the caption "I'm Ukrainian." The veteran defender, who’s played 15 games this season, was dropped to the substitute's bench ahead of the European encounter.

The defender has been under contract with Zenit since January 2019 following a controversial move from Shakhtar Donetsk.In his home country, Rakitskyi was branded a "traitor" as a result of his decision and has never been called up to play for his national side again.

It comes after the news after UEFA have planned to scrap plans to have the Champions League final played in St Petersburg amid the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

It’s reported that UEFA Uefa will take the 2022 Champions League final away from St Petersburg following Russia's invasion.European football's governing body are set to have an emergency meeting on Friday where they are expected to withdraw plans to have the final held in the Russian city at its stadium the Gazprom Arena in St Petersburg on 28 May.Fifa president Gianni Infantino recently stated: “Fifa condemns the use of force by Russia in Ukraine and any type of violence to resolve conflicts.