(Reuters) -West Ham United coach David Moyes confirmed that Ukraine forward Andriy Yarmolenko has participated in light training, but said on Tuesday the player would decide whether to play in the FA Cup tie against Southampton on Wednesday.
The 32-year-old Yarmolenko, who was given time off after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last week, did not play in West Ham’s 1-0 Premier League win over Wolverhampton Wanderers on Sunday.
“Andriy Yarmolenko came back in and did a bit of light training yesterday. I had a good chat with him,” Moyes told reporters on Tuesday.
“Obviously, he is really upset with the whole situation as many people are especially those from Ukraine so we will not rush him.
“I’ve asked him to come in today and see how he feels. If he feels fine and up to it, he’ll travel with the team. If he doesn’t, we’ll give him some more days off.”
Yarmolenko and other Ukrainian players, including Manchester City defender Oleksandr Zinchenko, called on the world of soccer to speak up against the invasion, which Russia calls “a special military operation”, in a video https://www.instagram.com/p/CajxZ8tgde8 posted to social media on Tuesday.
“Today is the 6th day of the war. Civil people are dying. Houses and squares are disappearing, but our faith in victory is not,” Yarmolenko said in the video’s caption.
World soccer’s governing body FIFA and European counterpart UEFA on Monday suspended Russia’s national teams and clubs from international football until further notice.
Moyes, whose team face Sevilla in the first leg of their Europa League last-16 tie on March 10, said he agreed with the sanctions on Russian soccer, including UEFA’s decision to move the Champions League final to Paris from St Petersburg.
“It could probably have been done even quicker,” he added. “UEFA have worked really hard.
“Football is such a powerful tool all round the world. Every country watches the Premier League and the Champions League. Because of that, it’s really important we take action and make sure we isolate them completely.”
West Ham travel to Southampton in the FA Cup fifth round on Wednesday.
(Reporting by Tommy Lund and Silvia Recchimuzzi in Gdansk, editing by Ed Osmond and Toby Davis)
