UPL club expels players who played in Crimea and Russia - media

Vorskla Poltava has cancelled the contracts of 24-year-old midfielder Andriy Kravchuk and 24-year-old goalkeeper Ivan Ponomarenko, according to the host of the TaToTake project Mykhailo Spivakovsky. After 2014, the players played in Russia and in occupied Crimea.

Ponomarenko, who was born in Orikhove (Saky district of Crimea), played for Krymteplytsia-2 and Zatyshne from Yevpatoria in 2019. The goalkeeper's track record includes games for Bukovyna, Dnipro and CSKA Pamir (Tajikistan).

Since 2020, Kravchuk from Chernivtsi has played 35 matches for Torpedo Moscow, where he made 3 assists. He also played for the youth teams Dynamo and Shakhtar.

"A meeting and conversation took place between the Vorskla management and representatives of the ultras. A specific fan group that is now defending us at the front. Vorskla's ultras demanded that Kravchuk and Ponomarenko leave the team. The management of the Poltava team agreed to meet them halfway," Spivakovsky said.

Kravchuk did not make any claims against the team, saying that he understood everything.

The official website of the Poltava team no longer lists the names of both players. The UPL website states that Ponomarenko is still on Vorskla's roster.

After the full-scale invasion began, Kravchuk immediately cancelled his contract with Torpedo and went to England, where he trained with Manchester City.

"Leaving Torpedo was the only solution. I felt very uncomfortable, people in Ukraine would not have understood me if I had stayed. I cannot believe what is happening. The 21st century, the centre of Europe. It's hard to find words," the player said in an interview with the Daily Mail.

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