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MOSCOW – Croatia expelled former player Ognjen Vukojevic from his World Cup delegation on Monday for making a pro-Ukrainian video with defender Domagoj Vida
The Croatian Football Federation and Vida are excused for this video posted defeated Russia on penalties in the quarter-finals of the World Cup Saturday.
The video shows Vida, who scored against Russia, shouting "glory to Ukraine" before Vukojevic adds "this win is for Dynamo and Ukraine … Vukojevic has already played for Ukrainian club Dynamo Kiev, and Vukojevic is now a scout
FIFA imposed a fine of 15,000 Swiss francs ($ 15,150) on Vukojevic on Monday for unsportsmanlike conduct
Tense relations with Ukraine and annexed the country's Crimean Peninsula in 2014. Some Russians said that they would encourage Croatia in its first World Cup semi-final match since 1998.
FIFA The rules prohibit players from to make political gestures at the World Cup and the ruling body, but they did not impose a match sanction.
The Croatian federation said in a statement that Vukojevic was a former player For Spartak Moscow, he had been c the team as an observer, but his qualifications for the World Cup have now been withdrawn.
"I do not want to be a burden to our team before the extremely important World Cup semifinal," Vukojevic told the Hungarian state television channel HRT that [traduction]
Vukojevic said that He intended to present the video as a personal greeting to Ukrainian friends, and not as a political statement
. However, I understand that my statements may be interpreted differently, "he said." For this reason, I am sorry – and I apologize to the Russian public, when they perceived my statements like that. I am very proud of Croatia's success at the World Cup and I wish the best of luck to the boys. "
The Croatian team denied players Mario Mandzukic and Andrej Kramaric to answer questions about Monday's controversy
A spokesman for the team, speaking of the video, said that Vida the "regret."
The Ukrainian government accuses Russia of arming pro-Russian separatists who control part of the east of the country and supporting separatist groups.
Vukojevic was appointed last year as a scout for Dynamo after a long career as a player, who was part of the Croatian team for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
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