MY ACCOUNT
Declan Rice has outlined his and West Ham’s support of team-mate Andriy Yarmolenko, who has been given compassionate leave by the club.
West Ham announced on Friday that Yarmolenko had been granted time off by manager David Moyes after Russia invaded Ukraine, his homeland.
The forward, who grew up in Chernihiv and played club football in Kyiv, is a 106-cap Ukraine international.
Speaking after a 1-0 Premier League win over Wolves, Rice highlighted how tough recent days had been for Yarmolenko and pledged the team’s support for the people of Ukraine.
“It’s so, so important for me, for the team, for everyone at the club to support [Yarmolenko],” Rice told Sky Sports.
“The day it all started, we saw him at the training ground and he was in bits, and so were all the lads for him.
“We’re all there for him, we’re all there for the people of Ukraine. It’s horrible what’s happening, but we’re all there with Yarma and the little tap on the shirt [bearing Yarmolenko’s name] to start the game obviously brought some good luck.
“Tomas [Soucek] has spoken to him a little bit more, but we’ve all sent him a little message and he sent us a message in the group chat before the game saying ‘good luck boys’, so I’m sure that brought good luck for us today.”
Hammers boss Moyes had earlier stated Yarmolenko was “not in a really good position at the moment”.
London Stadium was lit up in the colours of the Ukrainian flag prior to Sunday’s match, accompanied by a message which pledged “love and prayers to Andriy Yarmolenko and the people of Ukraine”.
Meanwhile, the West Ham players warmed up in t-shirts bearing Yarmolenko’s name, while visitors Wolves wore pre-match shirts displaying the message “no to war”.
