Pep Guardiola in empathy plea for Oleksandr Zinchenko after invasion of Ukraine: ‘How would you feel?’
Pep Guardiola has called for football to show empathy for the Ukrainian players affected by Russia’s invasion of their home country, including Manchester City’s Oleksandr Zinchenko.
The 25-year-old defender has been public in his anger at the attack, posting an Instagram message hoping for the “most painful suffering death” of Vladimir Putin and attending an anti-war vigil in Manchester.
City boss Guardiola described Zinchenko as “tough” when discussing the matter with reporters on Friday, adding: “What would you do if someone abroad attacked the UK? It's how he feels.
“It's a worry, what we feel with our country where we were born. Killing innocent people, how would you feel? I guess that's how he feels.
“Of course it's close to him. Of course he has our support. It happened in the country he was born, he loves, it's attacked from the outside. He's tough and knows we are here.”
West Ham have given Ukrainian winger Andriy Yarmolenko time off following the invasion, while Everton have offered their support to new signing Vitalii Mykolenko.
Guardiola added the Zinchenko has made himself available to play against the Toffees on Saturday.
“We spoke [about] all of this, I spoke with him,” he said. “Everyone, the friends. These are the headlines all around the world, it's a concern.
“Oleks is incredibly strong, a really brilliant guy. Of course it's not easy but today and yesterday in training he was brilliant. He's ready to play in case he has to.”
