The bloody war should be stopped
Tuesday, April 19, 2022
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Andriy Pyatov took part in the post-match press conference dedicated to the charity game against Fenerbahce that has been the Miners’ third match within the Global Tour for Peace in Ukraine
- We appeared in those shirts for the match for a reason. That’s the story of a little Alisa who has been staying in a bomb shelter in Mariupol for 55 days now. Her mother is a military doctor, and we want to draw the attention of the whole world to the fact that our children are getting killed in this war. It’s the 21st century now, and this must not happen, this bloody war should be stopped.
- You are one of the most famous and highly respected players of the team. What message would you like to send to the leaders of other countries in view of the ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia?
- Of course, everything that is happening now must be stopped. All the same, everything should eventually end in negotiations. We want all leaders to come to that conclusion, sit down at the table and stop everything that is happening now. And I have already said that the worst thing is the killing of children, our mothers, grandmothers. Everyone of us call for all this to be stopped and for Russia to get out of our land.
- Once upon a time, Shakhtar won the UEFA Cup at this stadium, but today we’ve had a completely different match...
- Of course, we can’t compare those games. Yes, there were some pleasant moments in the past, but now football is just taking a back seat for us. We are currently worried about our relatives, friends, and all the people of Ukraine, so this match was of a different nature. I want to express my deep gratitude to the club that received us, offering us a helping hand at such a difficult moment and giving us the opportunity to help the people of Ukraine.
- To what extent does the European football community support the idea of holding such matches? What will the funds received from the match be allocated for and how will they be disbursed? What is your personal motivation for such games, as it’s hard mentally now?
- Let me tell you about emotions first. When you wake up and watch rockets fly to Lviv yesterday and eight people get killed, including a child... Today you wake up and see that people are getting killed in Kharkiv, Mykolayiv and Mariupol... It's hard to think about football, and, probably, this affects everyone. Like any person, we are also influenced by positive messages from Ukraine, and we get inspired, but there are few of them at the moment. We believe, we hope, we pray, we help in any way we can. Many clubs offer their help, games, but there are championships underway in other countries, so we adapt to that. As you know, the national team is also gathering now, the president Ceferin gave them a base, that is, the European community are trying hard and helping us a lot. We will send all the funds to the people in need, children, and, believe me, there are a lot of them. We personally do some volunteer work. The club does it on a larger scale, everyone knows that we have a big centre in Lviv, where there are many needy migrants.