A UK football manager shut down questions on the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia on Tuesday, telling reporters "I'm not a politician."
During a press conference, Chelsea Football Club manager Thomas Tuchel was asked numerous times for his thoughts on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, to which he responded by saying, "Listen, listen, listen, you have to stop. I'm not a politician."
"You have to stop, honestly. I can only repeat it and I even feel bad to repeat it because I've never experienced war," Tuchel continued. "So even to talk about it, I feel bad because I'm very privileged. I sit here in peace and I do the best I can but you have to stop asking me these questions, I have no answers for you."
Tuchel added, "How often do I need to say it? It's horrible, of course, it's horrible, there cannot be any other opinion about it...Everybody in Europe has some noise in [their] head that nobody likes. Maybe it's the same for you, but you still try to do your job as good as possible and it's the same for us."
The comments by Tuchel come as war continues to take place in Ukraine after Russian troops were ordered to invade the country last week by President Vladimir Putin.
As fighting has continued to rage between the two countries, dozens from the sports world spoke out in opposition of the Russian invasion, including the governing body of soccer across the world, FIFA.
"Following the initial decisions adopted by the FIFA Council and the UEFA Executive Committee, which envisaged the adoption of additional measures, FIFA and UEFA have today decided together that all Russian teams, whether national representative teams or club teams, shall be suspended from participation in both FIFA and UEFA competitions until further notice," FIFA said in a statement. "Football is fully united here and in full solidarity with all the people affected in Ukraine. Both Presidents hope that the situation in Ukraine will improve significantly and rapidly so that football can again be a vector for unity and peace amongst people."
Dozens of other teams in the Premier League, where Chelsea plays, have also voiced support for Ukraine, with several players wearing shirts and displaying Ukrainian flags after their recent games.
Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich, a Russian billionaire, recently confirmed that he was helping to bring peace between Russia and Ukraine, according to ESPN.
"I can confirm Roman Abramovich was contacted by the Ukrainian side for support in achieving a peaceful resolution, and that he has been trying to help ever since," a spokesperson for Abramovich told ESPN. "Considering what is at stake, we would ask for understanding as to why we have not commented on either the situation as such or his involvement."
Newsweek reached out to Chelsea Football Club for comment but did not receive a response in time for publication.
