Russian football is isolated in Europe. Well, almost. On Sunday, Red Star Belgrade will play a friendly vs Zenit St. Petersburg. Both clubs are champions of their leagues. The game will take place in โ Sochi (probably because the stadium in Mariupol is not repaired yet).
Red Star and Zenit have a lot in common, not least their most important sponsor: Gazprom. Gazprom also sponsors Serbia. At least this is what Serbian President Aleksandar Vuฤiฤ announced in May, claiming he had negotiated an extremely advantageous gas deal with Putin.
According to Mr. Vuฤiฤ, Serbia will receive gas up to ten times cheaper than other buyers in Europe, and this for a duration of full three years. Whether this remarkable deal will actually materialize is another question. But Red Star coming to Russia fits in well here.
The most pro-Putin foreign player on the pitch this Sunday is likely to be a Croat though: Dejan Lovren, a former refugee from Bosnia, Champions League winner with Liverpool & vice world champion with Croatia, who plays for Zenit today & openly sides with Putin's wartime Russia.
At first glance, Lovren's solidarity with Putin seems surprising, as in Croatia, especially in the soccer scene, people maintain a critical distance towards Serbia's most powerful ally. On closer inspection, however, Lovren's choice is understandable though.
Lovren is a big fan of the extreme right-wing Croatian singer Marko Perkoviฤ ("Thompson"). From there, the path to supporting Putin's Z-fascism is not all that far. More on the upcoming special operation in Sochi via F.A.Z. (thanks to @DarioBrentin for his input)
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