Charity worker Kieran McCulloch claims playing Scottish junior football is harder than clearing mines in Ukraine. The goalkeeper, 30, recently swapped saving shots to help save lives in the war torn country with The HALO Trust.
He missed the end of last season with West of Scotland League side Threave Rovers because his day job as a logistics and procurement officer took him to the Kyiv area.
Kieran, from Dumfries, who returned from his second deployment in the region last month, said: “As strange as it sounds, I actually find football’s probably a lot more stressful.
“If you’ve got the manager or the crowd screaming and bawling at you because you’ve not caught the ball properly, I find that more stressful than when an airstrike is coming. If you make one mistake in goals then your team is 1-0 down and there’s absolutely no hiding place.”
Minister for Europe Graham Stuart said: “Kieran McCulloch has swapped saving shots to play a crucial role saving lives in Ukraine and the UK Government is proud to be supporting The HALO Trust’s world-leading demining work.
“The UK stands in solidarity with Ukraine against Putin’s illegal and inhumane war by pooling expertise from across Britain to make a real difference through our £220million humanitarian aid response.
“People from Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland stand behind international support for Ukraine in its fight against Putin’s illegal and inhumane war.”
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