‘No War’: Watch Ukrainian footballer Ruslan Malinovskyi’s goal celebration that’s breaking the internet

Amid Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, the sporting fraternity came up with various ways to condemn the attack. On Thursday night, Atalanta football club’s Ukrainian midfielder Ruslan Ukrainian scored a goal in their Europa League match against Olympiakos and revealed a message ‘No War in Ukraine’ written under his shirt. 

Atalanta were leading their Europa League tie against Greek club Olympiakos by a 2-1 aggregate score and in the second leg game on Thursday night, the Italian club thrashed Olympiakos 3-0 at the Karaiskakis Stadium to qualify for the Round of 16 of the European competition. 

Malinovskyi was the star of the match, scoring two goals on the evening, while Denmark full-back Joakim Maehle also found the net. 

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While Atalanta drew plaudits from all quarters for their clinical performance, it was Malinovskyi’s goal celebration that caught the eye of fans, and since last night, the video of his celebration is being shared widely on social media. 

You can watch Malinovskyi’s viral goal here:

Ruslan malinovskyi#NO_WAR_IN_UKRAINE pic.twitter.com/wRP5668Ltl
— Hussain Osman (@Hussain04570988) February 24, 2022

The past few weeks have seen tensions rising between Russia and Ukraine, with Russian President Vladimir Putin announcing a ‘special military operation’ on Ukraine lately. 

In the wake of their invasion of Ukraine, Russia have seen strong criticism from various western countries. The attacks on Ukraine have had a domino effect on their sporting calender as well, with Ukrainian Football League being suspended recently. 

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Moreover, as per multiple reports, UEFA, the governing body of football in Europe is pondering to reschedule the Champions League final 2022, which was originally planned to be hosted at St. Petersburg later in May.