World Cup 2018. Ognjen Vukojević expelled from Croatian siege

The staff of the Croatian team shrinks before the semifinal with England. After the publication of the controversial video, during which the victory against Russia was devoted to Ukraine, the deputy director, the analyst Ognjen Vukojević, was excluded.

The storm erupted after the quarter-finals with tournament hosts. The Croatians spent a lot of time with the Russians, 1-1 after 1-1 minutes, and Domagoj Vida gave them the advantage in overtime, but Fernandes managed to equalize. However, in the penalty charges, Zlatko Dalicia showed more resistance, and one of the scorers was Vida, who, shortly after the match, recorded with Vukojevic a short film and posted him on the Net. On the recording, both shout to the camera "Glory of Ukraine", or the slogan of the Ukrainian nationalists.

Why did they decide to take such a step? They both played in his career at Dynamo Kyiv. Vukojević in 2008-2015, and Vida most recently (2013-2018).

"The Croatian federation apologizes to the Russian supporters for the behavior of one of the members of the delegation," he wrote in a special statement, adding that Vukojević and Vida had no political connotations, even if they could be withdrawn.

Only Vukojević will be sanctioned, while the central defender who scored the goal is normally in the team and will be able to play Wednesday's semifinal against England at the Luzhniki stadium in Moscow.

Croats have already been warned by FIFA.

"I understand and respect the decision of the Croatian Football Federation, I would never want to be a burden to the national team, especially before a semifinal match so important. , and my only intention was to thank the friends in Ukraine for their support (…) I understand, however, that my statements may have been interpreted in a different way, for which I apologize. I apologize to the Russian public opinion if my speech included it – from what Croatia has done up to here and wish my friends good luck later in the tournament.

Recall that Earlier, at the start of the tournament, striker Nikola Kalinić was also expected to leave the team after the match with the coach .. match with Nigeria, the player refused to enter the field behind Mario Mandżukicia

PR