The national basketball player Johannes Voigtmann, who was active in Russia until recently, cannot imagine a future at CSKA Moscow at the moment.
“Even if the war hopefully ends soon, everything is not suddenly the same as it used to be. My agent is therefore trying to find a good solution for my contractual situation with the CSKA managers,” said the 29-year-old to the “kicker”: “There are, however no precedent for the current situation, this is new territory for everyone.”
Voigtmann’s contract with CSKA runs until the summer of 2023, the center left Russia quickly after the start of the war of aggression in Ukraine. At first he was surprised “by the terrible news about the war that Russia had started in Ukraine,” but “after a day or two of reflection, the decision was made that I didn’t want to stay in Moscow.”
In the current situation “I can’t agree with myself to hold competitions for a Russian team, where in the end it’s about winners and losers. Even if it’s just about basketball, it contains symbolism that I don’t think is appropriate at the moment “, he elaborated. “The Russian President is responsible for a brutal war of aggression, because of which innocent people are dying in Ukraine, millions of people have to flee their homeland, and children in particular are losing their homes or even their lives. I simply couldn’t stay in Russia and continue like nothing happened.”
His wife and two sons accompanied Voigtmann to the away game at Bayern Munich on February 24, after which they stayed in Germany. Voigtmann himself traveled back to Moscow to get the family dog and some items from the apartment. He then started his journey to Germany by car.