Former Serie A and France goalkeeper Sebastien Frey has told Tribuna he won't participate in the Legends Cup in Moscow because of his friendship with Chelsea and Ukraine legend Andriy Shevchenko.
"I was there several years before the war. I won't participate in the tournament this year," Frey explained. "That's because Shevchenko is my good friend. And I will support him in the [Ukraine Football Federation presidential] elections."
Earlier, Russian sports news outlet Sport-Express named Frey among the members of the World Team that will take part in the cup.
Despite Russia's horrible war against Ukraine, their sports authorities are acting as if nothing has happened and are trying to lure famous former athletes to all sorts of sports events.
Legends Cup is one of them: it's an annual football tournament for veterans that has been held in Russia since 2009. In various years, football icons such as Francesco Totti, Fabio Cannavaro, and Antonio Conte participated in the cup. Obviously, these days a lot of stars don't want to associate with the aggressor.
