The only soccer player in the World Cup who has a Russian flag on his boots, and here's why

photo: EPA-EFE/Noushad Thekkayil

Clubs and national teams in many sports have been excluded from competitions due to Russian aggression against Ukraine.

The football national team of Russia was thrown out of the qualification for the placement of World Cup Qatar 2022 when he was supposed to perform in the play-off, after which Poland was automatically placed in the play-off final. A reminder that the Russian national team will not even qualify for the 2024 European Championship.

The Russian flag appeared on one of the football players playing in the World Cup, it is about the representative of Cameroon, Gael Ondua.

This Cameroonian has dual citizenship, the other is from the Russian Federation, so he points out that he has the flag of that country on his boots because he pays respect to the country where he grew up.

Ondua played in the first round against Switzerland, and as soon as he entered as a reserve, in the 68th minute it was noticed that he had an unusual detail on his sports equipment.

– I see that people have started to notice my shoes. In any case, I would like to point out that the Russian flag on them represents my respect for the country where I grew up, where I was formed as a person and learned to play football - Ondua wrote on his Telegram channel.

He added the following:

– My relatives live in Russia, and they are always with me. It is our common home. For many years I have been playing in boots with the Russian flag and I will not break that tradition - announced Ondua.

Ondua is 27 years old, he was born in Cameroon, but has lived in Russia since early childhood. He started his career in the youth team of Lokomotiv Moscow, and played for CSKA, Zarya from Lugansk, Anzhi, Servet and Veilet, and now he is a member of Hannover.

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