The Ukrainian Parliament — the Verkhovna Rada — has approved on Tuesday to sanction more than half a hundred sportsmen, mostly Russians and Ukrainians, for their alleged support of Russia in the war, among them being former footballer and captain of the Ukrainian national team Anatoli Timoshchuk.
According to the letter approved by the Parliament all these persons have been sanctioned for publicly and repeatedly supporting Russia’s «armed aggression» against Ukraine, as well as «genocide and deportation of Ukrainians».
Prominent among these 56 athletes is Timoshchuk, a current member of the coaching staff of Zenit St. Petersburg. The Ukrainian authorities have already withdrawn all his coaching titles after he did not speak out publicly against the war and decided to remain working in Russia.
Timoshchuk, Ukraine’s most capped player –144– and three-time Ukrainian Footballer of the Year, and the other athletes accused of supporting Russia have been sanctioned for ten years, during which time their assets will be frozen and they will be prohibited from withdrawing capital and carrying out economic operations.
