Footballer refuses to play for Belarus under Lukashenka, leaves for Israel
Illya Shkuryn / CSKA
Belarusian football player Illya Shkuryn has suspended his contract with Russian soccer club CSKA, the club's telegram channel reports. The striker took advantage of the International Football Federation (FIFA) amendment.
In June of this year, FIFA allowed all legionnaires to suspend their contracts with Russian clubs unilaterally until June 30, 2023. This was due to the war that Russia had started against Ukraine. Shkuryn just took advantage of this amendment.
At the beginning of 2020, the player moved to CSKA. After the elections in Belarus, Shkuryn opposed the violence committed by the authorities and refused to come to the national team under Lukashenka's regime. The Belarusian authorities took away his military deferment and filed a complaint against him with FIFA, but the organization sided with the player.
CSKA loaned Shkuryn to Dynamo Kyiv in 2021. In February, the Belarusian moved to Poland's Raków, for which he played just two games. According to zerkalo.io, now the 23-year-old footballer will play at Maccabi FC (Petah Tikva) in the second division of the Israeli championship.
