Gloucester remove Russian flag from player's shirt
Prop Kirill Gotovtsev has been with Gloucester since 2021 and made more than 50 Premiership appearances
- Published
Gloucester have apologised for the use of a Russian flag on prop Kirill Gotovtsev's club shirt and said it will no longer be featured going forward.
Since 2015, the club has included national flags on the Premiership shirts of any player who has been internationally capped.
But a Gloucester statement on Wednesday said that following "internal discussion and Kirill's blessing" the Russian flag will no longer appear on 37-year-old Gotovtsev's shirt, while other nations will continue to be recognised.
Russia has been banned from international and cross-border competition by World Rugby since 2022 following the country's invasion of Ukraine.
"We remain entirely supportive of World Rugby's 2022 sanction regarding the conflict in Ukraine," the club statement, external said.
"Kirill fully co-operated with the requirements of World Rugby and DCMS [Department for Culture, Media and Sport] at that time and continues to do so.
"Kirill's national flag will not appear on his shirt in line with the sanctions. We understand the connotations of the flag in question and apologise for any offence this may have caused."
Kirill Gotovtsev has had a Russian flag on his shirt since he joined Gloucester in 2021
The back of Gotovtsev's shirt had been adorned with the flag since he joined the club almost four years ago but only gained wider attention via social media during Gloucester's televised victory over Sale Sharks last weekend.
Gloucester are not the only club to recognise its international players with national flags on their shirts, with West Country neighbours Bath also doing so.
Gotovtsev - who has been at the Cherry and Whites since 2021 and made more than 50 Premiership appearances - previously represented his country at the 2019 World Cup and the United Rugby Championship.
"The club is aware of ongoing commentary regarding this matter and would like to express its deep disdain for all forms of racism, and any individual expressing those views will not be welcome at Kingsholm," the statement concluded.