Former captain of the Russian national football team and football player of Zenit, Dynamo, Anji and Lokomotiv Igor Denisov called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to stop the war. He stated this in an interview with journalist Nobel Arustamyan for his blog. The multiple Russian football champion admitted that he even recorded a video message to the President of Russia, in which he was ready to kneel, if only the head of state would withdraw the troops and stop the war. He offered the same video to the media, but no one began to publish it.
“I even said this: “Ready to kneel before you.” I am a proud guy... It was on the third or fourth day. I was ready to kneel before him so that he would stop it all. What is the life of one person - some Denisov? There was no longer any pride, because I already imagined where it was all going. But, unfortunately, no one [my video message] posted,” said the former captain of the Russian national team.
The athlete also admitted that he was afraid to upload and record a video with an anti-war appeal, but he "cannot be silent."
“I'm scared even now. But I can't help but say. Again, I'm not hiding anywhere, I'm not going anywhere - I don't need it. But how can you not say if I feel this way? You know, maybe for someone who thinks differently, I'm talking nonsense, but for myself, I think I should express it, ”said the footballer.
Commenting on the events of February 24, Denisov said that he was in total shock from what happened, he could not eat and sleep normally. “I am a very receptive person ... I can’t kill a fly, so to speak. For me, these events are a disaster. Complete horror. I don’t know, maybe they’ll put me in jail or kill me for these words, but I tell it like it is, ”said the ex-captain. The football player also said that he did not understand this war, and none of his acquaintances could explain what it was for.
“Maybe because I'm not well-read, maybe because I don't know history well, but I don't. I'm against it. I am against it when people die, ”said the athlete.
Denisov also noted that he could not imagine his life outside of Russia, and said that he tried to live in Europe for a while, but realized that it was “not his.” Moreover, Denisov wants "life in Russia to become normal." Answering a question about overseas real estate, the ex-captain said that he put his house in Spain up for sale.
Since the beginning of hostilities in Ukraine, Russian athletes have avoided the topic of war, while all sanctions against athletes are called “politically motivated” by officials. Denisov was one of the first Russian football players to publicly speak out against the war. Before Denisov, a blogger, the founder of the Krasava football club Evgeny Savin, had already suffered for his anti-war position - he recorded a long interview with Ukrainian football players who spoke about the horrors of the war in Ukraine.
Igor Denisov is one of the most titled football players in the history of Russia. He won the Russian Football Championship four times, together with Zenit he won the UEFA Cup and the UEFA Super Cup. In 2012, he was recognized as the Footballer of the Year by the Russian Football Union (RFU).
