Artem Gagarin, the vice-president of Kryvyi Rih Kryvbas, has reacted strongly to the recent talk about the ban on holding football matches in Kryvyi Rih, Dnipro and Odessa due to the increased frequency of missile attacks on these cities and the correspondingly increased number of air alerts, which significantly delay the matches.
"Positive emotions, how lacking they have been lately... For me, football has become perhaps one of the few things that gives me positivity in these difficult times. Every match I see the joyful faces of fans in the stands, including many children, military personnel, families of fallen soldiers and ordinary people who live daily in constant anxiety and terror from an aggressor country.
It still proves the importance of continuing to play and develop football despite the circumstances. The 1,000 children who train in our two Academies in Dnipro and Kryvyi Rih find solace and are distracted, if only for a few hours, from the horrors around them. And football also means hundreds of jobs (only in Kryvbas) and taxes, which are so important for our victory.
Given all of the above, I have a clear answer to the question: "Is football needed now?". Yes, by 1,000,000,000 per cent! The whole country needs it, and especially Kryvyi Rih, Dnipro, Odessa. Those cities where UPL matches are played, which are closest to the front line or suffer from constant enemy attacks.
Recently, there has been talk on the sidelines that because of the large number of air alerts, which disrupt the "rhythm of the game", it is not necessary to play matches in these cities. I would like to address such "smart people". You either make an official statement from the club or top managers, or stop these talks. What "rhythm of the game" are you talking about?! The people of these cities live in this "rhythm" every day! Have respect for people and realise that the war is not somewhere out there - it is in every corner of Ukraine!
I would like to thank those thanks to whom we can play and develop football. Our defenders and defenders. Glory to Ukraine!", - wrote Gagarin on his page in the social network Instagram.