Former Liverpool Forward Leaves Managerial Role in Russia due to Ukraine Invasion

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By Martin Graham | 2nd Mar 2022

Andriy Voronin, former Liverpool forward has left his role as the assistant manager of Dynamo Moscow in the Russian Premier League due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Voronin, a Ukrainian, played for Dynamo Moscow between 2010 and 2014 and has been with the Russian club as assistant manager since 2020.

Following the invasion of his home country, Ukraine, by Russia’s armed forces on the order of President Vladimir Putin, Voronin decided to quit his job at Dynamo Moscow.

The former striker and attacking midfielder who played 75 times for Ukraine’s national team, left his job at the Russian club and escaped with his family to Germany. He spoke to German newspaper BILD about how he left his job and fled from Russia.

About leaving his job as Dynamo Moscow Voronin said, “I could no longer work in the country that is bombing my homeland.”

Build asked Voronin what he felt Germany could do to help Ukraine, the former Liverpool forward said, “Stop that son of a b**** Putin, help the refugees. And send weapons so we can defend ourselves.

“I’m so proud of our country. We have beautiful cities, great people.

“We will keep fighting. And we will win. But the price is so high. All the dead…

“We live in the year 2022, and not in World War II…”

How Voronin and family fled Russia

Voronin, who last played for Dynamo Moscow before retiring in 2014, started his managerial career in 2017 with FC Buderich, a lower division club in German football before moving on to Dynamo Moscow as assistant manager in 2020.

He has since been growing steadily in the role and looked ready to take on his first senior team in a big league until Thursday’s invasion of his home country.

Voronin went on to detail how he left Russia alongside his family.

“We got out of Moscow before it was completely blocked,” he said.

“We couldn’t land in Dusseldorf so we flew via Amsterdam. My father, my mother-in-law, my wife and my children are here now.

“I’ve been unwell for four days. Really bad. When I see all the pictures from my homeland. When I see the news. It’s all as unreal as a movie. But a horror film.

“I just want to help. With money. Whatever… And I don’t know if I should say it: But if I were in Ukraine right now, I’d probably have a gun in my hand too.”

Spartak Moscow eliminated from Europa League

Elsewhere, Spartak Moscow have been eliminated from the Europa League after FIFA and UEFA banned the Russian national team and Russian football clubs from participating in any competition.

Following the ban on Russian football clubs, Spartak Moscow released a statement to their fans on Twitter. The statement reads: “UEFA and FIFA have decided to exclude from the current iteration of the Europa League. This means that our round of 16 ties against RB Leipzig will not go ahead as planned.

“This verdict is connected to the organisations’ position on recent events that have taken place in Ukraine.

“The recent decision taken by UEFA and FIFA although expected, is extremely upsetting. Unfortunately, the efforts that our club made in the Europa League have been nullified for reasons that are far outside the remit of sports.

“Spartak has millions of fans not only in Russia, but all over the world. Our successes and failures bring people from dozens of different countries together. We believe that sport, even in the most difficult times, should aim to build bridges, and not burn them. We are forced to obey a decision that we do not agree with.

“For now, we shall focus on domestic competitions, and are looking forward to a speedy achievement of peace that everybody needs.”