Benfica’s Ukrainian goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin refused to shake hands with Monaco’s Russian star Aleksandr Golovin before their Champions League clash on Wednesday night.
It is traditional for European teams to shake hands prior to kick-off in Champions League games to show respect, sportsmanship and fair play.
But with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine still ongoing, Trubin did not wish to shake hands with midfielder Golovin before the match at the Stade Louis II, which ended in a 3-2 away victory for Portuguese club Benfica.
The duo were seen exchanging handshakes with their other respective opponents but Trubin did not stick his hand out as he walked past Golovin.
The Russian was spotted turning his head but the Ukrainian did not look back as he shook hands with the next Monaco player.
‘I’m sure Trubin doesn’t hold Golovin personally responsible, but he can still make a statement by refusing to engage with Russians while a war is going on,’ one football fan, @ManateeSheriff, posted on Reddit.
There have been many examples of Ukrainians refusing handshakes with Russians in other sports since the conflict started in eastern Europe.
It has become somewhat of a common sight in tennis, where it is traditional for players to shake hands at the net at the end of matches.
Ukrainian player Dayana Yastremska refused to shake hands with her Russian-born French opponent Varvara Gracheva at Wimbledon this year.
Last year, Ukrainian Elina Svitolina said her respect for her country’s soldiers in the war against Russia was key to her decision not to shake hands with Russian opponents.
Meanwhile, at the 2024 Australian Open, Ukrainian teenager Yelyzaveta Kotliar was criticised for shaking the hand of Russian player Vlada Mincheva.
Her father Konstantin Kotliar released a statement amid the backlash and said: ‘Her emotions were running high, so she wasn’t completely in control of her behaviour.
‘She automatically performed the post-match ritual, not realising that behind the net there was a representative of the country who launched the attack on our homeland.
‘It was definitely a mistake that Liza regrets and assures us that she will never allow anything like that to happen again.’
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