The Ukrainian football player was forced to apologize for shaking hands with a Russian opponent

On Saturday, January 28, in the match of the 20th round of the French top football league (Ligue 1), Monaco and Marseille “Olympique” teams met, and the match ended in a 1:1 draw.

After the game, the cameramen recorded a shot showing how Monaco’s Russian footballer Alexander Golovin and Olympique’s Ukrainian midfielder Ruslan Malinovskis shake hands.

The Ukrainian footballer drew hateful comments on social media, forcing him to apologize for shaking hands with Golovin.

“I want to apologize to the Ukrainians for responding to the gesture of the “Monaco” football player. I understand that it would be better to pass him by, but it so happened that he came to say hello to me. After the match, the players shook hands with each other. I did it automatically

I understand how important this is to you right now. But the hate I get for a simple mistake makes me question your sincerity when you write me letters of support. In an individual sport, I would not even go on the field against a Russian athlete, because I fully support the exclusion of Russian athletes from international competitions,” said Malinovskis in a public statement.

The 29-year-old Malinovskis was loaned to the Marseille team in January of this year. Previously, the Ukrainian football player represented the Italian Serie A club “Atalanta”, which was represented by the Russian midfielder Alexey Miranchuk.