Roman Zozulya
Roman Vyacheslavovych Zozulya (, born 17 November 1989) is a Ukrainian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Spanish club CF Fuenlabrada and the Ukrainian national team. He played in the Ukrainian Premier League for Dynamo Kyiv and Dnipro. In 2016 he moved to Spain, playing six La Liga games for Real Betis before featuring in over 150 Segunda División games for Albacete and Fuenlabrada Zozulya made his international debut for Ukraine in 2010. He was part of their squad at UEFA Euro 2016. Club career. Dynamo Kyiv. Born in Kyiv, Zozulya was a product of the Dynamo  youth system progressing through Dynamo-3 and Dynamo-2. In 2008, after the 2007–08 season he was promoted to the main team. Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk. On 27 February 2014, in a Europa League match against Tottenham Zozulya was sent off after he directed a head-butt towards Jan Vertonghen. Zozulya was sent off and had to be restrained from attacking Vertonghen, who was accused of faking the degree of contact. Tottenham went on to win the game 3–1, knocking Dnipro out. Betis. On 27 July 2016, Zozulya signed a three-year contract with La Liga side Real Betis. He made his debut on  11 September in a 3–2 win at Valencia CF, as an 80th-minute substitute for Álex Alegria. He played six games, starting once on 22 January in a goalless draw at home to Sporting Gijón. Rayo Vallecano. On 31 January 2017, Zozulya joined Rayo Vallecano on loan until the end of the season. His arrival was met with protests from the club's fans, unhappy over his purported far-right links after a picture of him wearing a shirt with the Tryzub and lyrics of poet Taras Shevchenko was featuring the logo of the Right Sector. Zozulya vehemently denied any  such links in an open letter to Rayo's fans, declaring that he has only assisted the legitimate Ukrainian army during the Russian military intervention in Ukraine. On 1 February 2017, Zozulya had his contract cancelled due to the reactions of Rayo fans and returned to Betis. This meant that he could not play anymore in the 2016–17 season because the Royal Spanish Football Federation rules say players cannot register for more than two teams in one campaign. Albacete. On 8 September 2017, free agent Zozulya signed a one-year contract with Albacete Balompié. On 25 March 2019, Zozulya  endured more harassment during an Albacete away game against Lugo, when the fans of the latter club sang chants aimed at Zozulya, explicitly wishing him death for supposedly supporting the Nazi political movement. As a result of the incident, the fans of Albacete requested that La Liga seriously punish Lugo. Zozulya received the best player award for the month of October 2019, based on the fans' votes. On 15 December 2019, the league game between Rayo Vallecano and Albacete was abandoned by the referee, after abuse and threats from the home fans over Zozulya's alleged far-right-wing political  views. The second half of the game was scheduled to be played the following June, following the resumption of football after the coronavirus pandemic. Fuenlabrada. On 31 July 2021, after "Alba"s relegation, Zozulya signed a two-year contract with fellow second division side CF Fuenlabrada. International career. Zozulya debuted for Ukraine on 2 June 2010 against Norway at Ullevaal Stadion in Oslo. He scored a goal after Yevhen Konoplyanka fired a long shot at Jon Knudsen, who fumbled with the ball and let Zozulya kick the ball into the net. He was substituted in the 81st minute. He was member  of the Ukrainian 23-man squad for Euro 2016. Outside of football. Civil involvement. Zozulya is the founder of the Narodna Armiya (People's Army) organisation which is a part of the civil volunteer movement helping Ukrainian forces in the war in Donbass. In particular Zozulya's organisation is providing food, clothing and technical equipment to Ukrainian Army and helps families of the military. In 2016, he received a special commendation from the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine for his support to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Together with Ruslan Rotan Zozulya is also the co-founder and sponsor of  the "Rotan and Zozulya Academy of Football" in Dnipro. Accusations of Nazi sympathies. In December 2019, a match between the Spanish teams Rayo Vallecano and Albacete (Roman Zozulya's former and current clubs) was suspended, when the former club's fans loudly accused the player of being a sympathizer of Nazi ideology, due to his known support of the Azov Battalion, as well as other images he had posted on his Twitter account, which contained references to Nazi symbolism or organizations claimed to support Nazism. Personal life. His sister Olena is married with another Ukrainian football player Kyrylo Kovalets. Career  statistics. International. International goals. "Source:" Honors. Dynamo Kyiv FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk