FORMER Scotland captain Graeme Souness admits he will be cheering on Ukraine this week during World Cup play-off semi-final.
The Rangers icon insists he wil put his football allegiances to the side to back Ukraine, who have been under Russian invasaion for much of 2022.
His support for the Ukranians doesn't just end with the play-offs against Scotland and then potentially Wales, though.
Souness wants to see Ukraine go all the way in Qatar this winter to lift the World Cup trophy.
Scotland will face Ukraine at Hampden on Wednesday night in the semi-final, with the winner then going on to face Wales on Sunday evening in Cardiff for a spot in the World Cup.
While Souness wants to see Ukraine do well, he admits he feels for Scotland's current stars, because he doesn't know how he'd feel in their position.
He told The Times: “When I have thought about this game in my quieter moments, I’ve thought, ‘How would I deal with this?’
“Part of me keeps coming back to the fact that it’s just a game of football, and do I really want to beat them? Whether it’s sport, politics, the arts, whatever it is, we must send a message to Russia that it’s not acceptable what they are doing.
“I’m going to find myself in a really difficult situation. I’ll be emotional. I don’t just want Ukraine to qualify, I want them to go there (Qatar) and win it.
"How far do you have to bury your head in the sand not to realise the situation the world’s in right now? Will it be when someone presses the button on a nuclear weapon?
“I’d not want to be one of the Scottish players playing that night. I don’t know where my emotions would be. My emotions when I think about it deeply are that it’s more important than football to send a message that Russia’s behaviour is unacceptable.
"The world has to unite and tell them that — you can hear the emotion in my voice. That’s my over-riding feeling on the situation.
"I’m doing it for television and I’m not sure how I’ll cope with that. I know the majority of our supporters who go there will feel the same — there you are. It’s going to be a really strange night.”
