[ad_1]
Gloucester will remove the Russia flag from the back of Kirill Gotovtsev’s shirt for all matches moving forward and have issued an apology “for any offence this may have caused”.
The inclusion of a Russia flag on the back of Gotovtsev’s shirt was noted by a supporter following Gloucester’s win over Sale Sharks last weekend.
Russia has been banned from participating in multiple sports under its own flag since the invasion of Ukraine began in 2022, while the country was also banned from qualifying for the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
Gloucester have featured the international flags of players who have been capped at Test level since 2015. The club announced they will continue to do so in the Premiership, although Gotovtsev’s Russia flag will be removed. He won 12 caps for Russia and featured at the 2019 World Cup in Japan.
“We remain entirely supportive of World Rugby’s 2022 sanction regarding the conflict in Ukraine. Kirill fully co-operated with the requirements of World Rugby, and DCMS, at that time and continues to do so,” the club said.
“Following further internal discussion and with Kirill’s blessing, the club has decided to continue to recognise those who have caps for their country on Gloucester Rugby Premiership jerseys – as has been the case since 2015. Kirill’s national flag will not appear on his shirt, in line with the sanctions. We understand the connotations of the flag in question and apologise for any offence this may have caused.
“Finally, the club is aware of ongoing commentary regarding this matter and would like to express its deep distain [sic] for all forms of racism, and any individual expressing those views will not be welcome at Kingsholm.
“For the avoidance of doubt, in line with all European games this season, the flags will not appear on the shirts this weekend.”
Gloucester supporter Richard Paish drew attention to the flag with a post on X. “As a @gloucesterrugby supporter & grandson of Ukrainians I find it wrong that Gotovtsev is allowed to wear a Russian flag on his shir [sic] especially in a city that has a prominent Ukrainian community very poor.”
Paish’s account has since been made private. Jamal Ford-Robinson, the Gloucester prop, on Wednesday posted screenshots of Paish’s X account which featured a number of racist memes, along with the caption “just gonna leave these here”.
Lewis Ludlow, the Gloucester captain, responded to Ford-Robinson’s post by saying “fair play bud” with a clapping emoji. Another Gloucester supporter responding to Ford-Robinson suggested that Paish had been banned from the Gloucester supporters group on Facebook.
Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
[ad_2]
Source link