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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Joseph McBride

Ukrainian star dropped by government-backed Russian club supported by Vladimir Putin

It was a strange night for European football as Europa League ties carried on as normal despite the ongoing invasion of Ukraine by Russian troops.

The midweek action has been dominated by messages and gestures on the field, as Ukrainian pairing Roman Yaremchuk and Ruslan Malinovskyi used their goal celebrations for Benfica and Atalanta to condemn the breakout of war.

Fedor Smolov was the first Russian footballer to speak out against the actions of his country's government, and all eyes were on Zenit, the team supported by Vladimir Putin.

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