PRAGUE (AP) — Slavia Prague has canceled a warm-up game against Slovan Bratislava because the Slovak champion played a friendly match against Russia’s Dynamo Moscow.
Slovan, which will face Sturm Graz in the playoff of the Europa Conference League next month, played the friendly on Tuesday during its training camp in Qatar.
“It turns out that we have another view of the war (against Ukraine),” said Jaroslav Tvrdík, chairman of Slavia’s board of directors.
The Czech club instead will play another Slovak team, Zlate Moravce, and will donate the proceeds to Ukraine, which was invaded by Russia nearly two years ago.
In a statement Wednesday, Slovan said he did not violate any rules while playing for the Dynamo. Chief executive Ivan Kmotrík Jr. said the club rejected accusations that it would “somehow legitimize a military conflict. “
“We are any war,” he said.
Kmotrík said athletes should not be discriminated against because of their nationality or origin, adding that it is right for Russians to be allowed to participate in NHL, WTA and ATP tennis tournaments.
Russian clubs have been excluded from European competitions since the invasion. Ukrainian teams will have to play their matches abroad.
When UEFA and its president, Aleksander Ceferin, reinstated Russia’s national under-17 groups in their competitions in September, it provoked a backlash from some European member associations who continued to refuse to allow their youth groups to play Russia. UEFA withdrew the proposal within two weeks.
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