Before the Champions League game
Ukrainian player refuses to shake hands with Russians
Updated on November 28, 2024Reading time: 1 min.
AS Monaco and Benfica Lisbon met in the Champions League. There was a politically charged scene before the game.
Benfica goalkeeper Anatolij Trubin caused a politically charged scene before his club’s Champions League game at AS Monaco. As usual, after the Champions League anthem was played, the entire Benfica team walked past the host team to greet each player with a handshake.
However, when Trubin passed Monaco’s Aleksandr Golovin, he quickly skipped the handshake with the Russian midfielder. Golovin had no choice but to look after Trubin, somewhat puzzled, and then accept the handshakes of the other players.
The background to the lack of greeting is probably the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. The war has been raging since February 2022. Ukrainian athletes repeatedly refused to shake hands with Russian athletes. This was observed, among other things, in tennis, where a handshake is customary after every match. Trubin has now joined this ranks.