Mechelen are providing Marian Shved with additional support as war breaks out in Ukraine with Russian troops attacking on a number of fronts as they head to the capital Kyiv.
Shved left his home city of Lviv for Celtic in 2019, scoring on his debut against Nomme Kalju but failed to settle before moving to Mechelen in the summer on a permanent basis after a season on loan with the Belgian club.
Ukrainian sportsmen have been in the public eye this week with the Champions League Final being switched from St Petersburg to Paris in the first major sporting sanction against Putin and the Russian Regime.
Shved has played 21 games for Mechelen this season, scoring twice, the most recent against Oostende on February 12 but now has other priorities to cope with.
Belgian website HLN reports Mechelen boss Wouter Vrancken saying:
“Marian is very worried. How would you be yourself? His city, Lviv, is under attack and his family is there.”
Wouter Vrancken sympathizes with his Ukrainian winger – that much became clear in the press chat. “Marian is an introverted guy, but I regularly ask how he feels. He is constantly working on it, which is understandable. Marian also gets videos forwarded from family and friends about what’s going on in Lviv. Then you can’t be 100 percent focused on football – that’s more than normal. His girlfriend and child are happily staying here, with him. But the rest of his family is there. It is very difficult for him.”
Shved continued to train for the past few days and he is in the roster this weekend. “He can change his mind on the field,” explains Vrancken. “He trains well and does his best. It is also important that his teammates support him. He can tell his story, especially with those with whom he has a good relationship.”
?| @kvmechelen??? Head Coach Wouter Vrancken on his ??Ukrainian Midfielder Marian Shved…
?"Marian is very worried. His city, Lviv is under attack and his family are there. He cannot be focussed on football as usual. It is very difficult for him." pic.twitter.com/khs4ARXAY2
— The Belgian Football Podcast (@BelgianPodcast) February 25, 2022
Started to write something but seems inadequate at this time. Hope Football fans all over Europe takes Ukraine flags to their games. The Megalomaniac Putin is out of his mind.
Scandalous, I hope allied nations are arming the Ukrainians, must be terrible, especially with his family there. I wonder if Scotland’s World Cup play off with Ukraine, next month will go ahead.
Russia should be banned from everything. Ukraine are a proud nation, and a sovereign nation, if they want to join NATO, they should be allowed to. Putin is a modern day version of Hitler.
Here Here Sean.