Former Tottenham forward Serhiy Rebrov is speaking out about the Russian invasion of his country. The current manager of Al Ain in the United Arab Emirates spoke with Goal, stating he’s prepared to return to his country and fight when his work in UAE is done.
Rebrov has also set up a fund to send economic aid to Ukraine’s military efforts, joining former and current Ukraine internationals like Manchester City’s Oleksandr Zinchenko and Atalanta’s Ruslan Malinovskyi.
“Today, we are fighting for the whole of Europe, not just for Ukraine,” Rebrov said. “It could have been any other country instead of Ukraine. And we don’t know who is next. We’re a strong and proud people, and today, we are showing it. But the problem is that Russia is now attacking indiscriminately.”
‘They kill civilians, children. That’s the biggest issue. This cruelty. They said they were evacuating civilians, but they didn’t do it properly. And now they are trying to destroy all our infrastructure. They didn’t come to fight only our military; they are killing everybody. And this injustice transcends us Ukrainians even more and makes us unite.”
The former Tottenham forward was also critical of the Russian people for opposing President Vladimir Putin, although they face potentially severe repercussions. Rebrov went on to say that he hopes other European countries continue to step up their backing of Ukraine.
“Everybody is helping Ukraine at the moment,” he said. “And there are different ways to do it. You see volunteers all the time bringing food, helping our army and people. And it’s not easy when you see all the bombs falling everywhere. These people are extremely brave in braving all these risks. I think that today everyone is trying to help Ukraine.”
“Of course, they can do more. The most important thing is to close the airspace. Everyone in Ukraine is talking about it and praying for it. This is the protection we are asking for. Because, as I said, they are sending bombs and missiles on civilians.”
“They are bombing everything. And I think Europe and NATO can still help us with that. But yes, we are delighted with the position that all the countries have taken, with the humanitarian aid that they have provided and with the volunteers who are mobilizing. But we need to do a bit more.”
Despite having his wife and kids with him in the UAE, Rebrov’s parents are in Ukraine and said it’s a mystery whether they’re safe or not, considering the dangers that have occurred in the country daily since the Russian invasion began.
“We can never know if they are safe or not,” Rebrov said.
We’d all like to see a ‘no-fly’ zone over Ukraine (purely on a humanitarian basis) but it would end with NATO jets engaging with the Russian airforce, that’s the beginning of WW3…