Picture Credit: Twitter
Ukraine international Roman Yaremchuk couldn't hold back the tears after being brought on for Benfica against Vitoria this evening. The former Gent and Dynamo Kyiv man came on as a substitute, replacing striker Darwin Nunez. He was also handed the captain's armband by Jan Vertonghen in a show of solidarity. He was then given a wonderful standing ovation by his supporters, with many holding up banners in support of their players and Ukraine. Yaremchuk applauded the entire stadium and was visibly emotional, tearing up just after the hour mark. The scenes were beautiful and continued the trend of the footballing community around the world rallying around their Ukrainian representatives.
Yaremchuk joined the club in July and has scored eight goals for the team in his 31 appearances so far. The Ukrainian striker has also scored 12 goals for Ukraine's national team in his 36 appearances so far. Earlier, Benfica's Ukrainian striker Roman Yaremchuk celebrated a Champions League goal on Wednesday by revealing a shirt bearing his country's coat of arms as fears of a Russian invasion in his homeland grew.
Watch the video here:
Ukraine has received support from many footballing countries in Europe, with England announcing a boycott of all their international matches against Russia. England's decision comes after similar announcements by Poland, Sweden and the Czech Republic, who are all future or potential opponents of Russia in FIFA World Cup qualifying.
Meanwhile, FIFA has also stated that Russia would be barred from hosting matches and must play under the banner of "Football Union of Russia" without a national flag or playing its anthem. The Premier League clash between Everton and Manchester City saw Ukraine duo Vitaliy Mykolenko and Oleksandr Zinchenko embrace at Goodison Park. Everton players came out of the tunnel draped in Ukraine flags in a spectacular display of unity. Meanwhile, the Carabao Cup final saw Liverpool and Chelsea's players observe a minute of clapping for Ukraine while posing for a photo with each other.
