Atalanta star Malinovskyi reveals 'No war in Ukraine' t-shirt message after scoring in Europa League
Atalanta star Ruslan Malinovskyi revealed a 'No war in Ukraine' message on a t-shirt under his jersey after scoring in the Europa League on Thursday night.
Malinovskyi scored twice as Atalanta beat Olympiacos 3-0 in the second leg of their round of 32 tie in Greece.
Joachim Maehle also found the net as the Italian outfit progressed to the last 16 5-1 on aggregate, but Malinovskyi's unique goal celebration was the main talking point of the game.
What happened?
After putting Atalanta 2-0 up with a fine strike in the 66th minute, Malinovskyi immediately ran over to the crowd before stopping and holding up his jersey.
The midfielder had written 'No war in Ukraine' on his first layer of clothing in reference to his country's ongoing conflict with Russia and was embraced by his team-mates after sending out his message.
A strong goal with an even stronger message.
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) February 24, 2022
Atalanta's Ukrainian midfielder Ruslan Malinovskyi unveiled a 'no war in Ukraine' shirt after scoring the first of two brilliant goals. pic.twitter.com/Oc4GPcUveA
Earlier in the day, Malinovsky had taken to social media to share a link for his followers to donate to the Ukrainian military with the caption: "Ukraine is under attack right NOW. Please, spread the word and pray for our country."
Ukraine under attack right NOW.
— Ruslan Malinovskyi (@malinovskyi18) February 24, 2022
Please, spread the word and pray for our country! 🙏🏻 pic.twitter.com/i0WwSVIPJ8
How has football in Ukraine been affected?
Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered troops to advance on Ukrainian soil in the early hours of Thursday morning.
Reports of explosions across the country soon followed and Ukraine's football association responded by shutting down their schedule for the next month.
Shakhtar Donetsk's pursuit of the league title has been temporarily halted as a result, with head coach Roberto De Zerbi reacting to the news in an interview with Italpress: “Tonight the explosions woke us up. They suspended the championship this morning and from the windows of the Opera Hotel we saw rows of cars moving – I think they are going to Poland.
“The Italian Embassy had urged us to leave but, I repeat, I am a sportsman, I could not turn my back on the club, on football and go like this - and in the end they closed the airspace and you are here.”