FIPRO confirms death of two Ukrainian footballers in Russia invasion

FIPRO confirmed death of two Ukrainian footballers named Vitalii Sapylo and Dmytro Martynenko in the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Vitalii was only 21. Meanwhile, Dmytro was only 25 who was the casualties of the combat in Ukraine.

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21 year old Vitalli Sapylo was a goal-keeper in the Ukraine's third division's Karpaty Lviv's youth team. Meantime, 25 year old Dmytro Martynenko was a promising footballer from FC Hostomel, a second division team in Ukraine.

Both the footballers were fighting for their country against Russia's invasion forced by Vladimir Putin.

Following the incident, FIPRO showcased their condolences to the families of both the young footballers.

"Our thoughts are with the families, friends, and teammates of young Ukrainian footballers Vitalii Sapylo and Dmytro Martynenko, football's first reported losses in this war. May they both rest in peace," FIPRO posted on Twitter as their official statement.

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FIPRO general secretary Jonas Baer-Hoffman also gave his statement on BBC Radio 5Live.

"We've had confirmation from the ground, which is of course incredibly sad.

"We don't have clear information on how many of our members are really currently involved directly in the conflict, and of course there are still hundreds of Ukrainian players, male and female, in the country.

"Our union on the ground is effectively working out of bunkers and cellars where they are hiding from the attacks, so it's a very difficult situation to analyse.

"These two players have apparently passed away, as part of this military invasion. They're showing how football and sports in general is an afterthought because they're just individuals who unfortunately got caught up in this terrible war," Hoffman said.

Our thoughts are with the families, friends, and teammates of young Ukrainian footballers Vitalii Sapylo (21) and Dmytro Martynenko (25), football's first reported losses in this war.



May they both rest in peace. pic.twitter.com/f6l9oHHRMr

— FIFPRO (@FIFPRO) March 1, 2022

Sapilo's father Roman said, "He was such a happy, fun-loving boy. It was an airstrike by that damn Putin. He took my child from me.

"He really wanted to fight. First one tank broke down, then the second, but under no circumstances did he want to leave the front. He asked for a third party. This armour has brought him eternal sleep," he added via Bild.