It has been over two months since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began in February and the conflict still remains unresolved despite intervention by various international bodies.
Even when football seems an unimportant aspect in the larger context right now, it has continued to remain a global channel to voice protest against the actions sanctioned by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Over the last two months, there have been various shows of solidarity by clubs, players and fans across Europe. Ukrainian and Man City player Oleksander Zinchenko was handed the captain’s armband by Pep Guardiola on March 1st during the team’s FA Cup game against Peterborough.
Apart from this, players and clubs have also held many fundraisers to provide rations and other requirements for Ukrainian people cordoned off inside the country.
The latest show of protest against Putin though came from Poland on Saturday during Lech Poznan’s clash with Legia Warsaw in the Polish First Division where fans unveiled a huge banner that portrayed Putin in a noose, being hanged to death.
It seemed to be a joint effort from both sets of supporters who were also spotted chanting “Ruska Kurwa” (Russian Whor*) to accompany the huge tifo.
The banner was also disposed of by some kind of controlled burn in the stadium.
Lech Poznan are currently top of the table in the Ekstraklasa following their 1-1 draw against Legia. The latter, who have won the Polish league a record 15 times are currently languishing in the 9th spot on the table.
But football fans have accorded both teams with an equal amount of respect despite their differences on the table for the bold initiative to protest against Putin, without major coverage or protection that top European clubs receive for doing the same.
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