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Ukraine starts football season despite invasion

August 23, 2022

Six months after Russia invaded the country, the Ukrainian men's football Premier League resumed. For safety reasons, the games will take place without spectators.

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Metalist 1925 wearing black T-shirts with the emblem of the Ukraine's Armed Forces instead of the traditional sponsor logo
Metalist 1925 faced Shakhtar wearing black T-shirts with the emblem of the Ukraine's Armed Forces instead of the traditional sponsor logoImage: GLEB GARANICH/REUTERS

Despite Russia's ongoing invasion, the Ukrainian men's football Premier League resumed on Tuesday, in an apparent attempt to give a morale boost to the war-ravaged nation.

In the opening match, Shakhtar Donetsk drew 0-0 with Metalist 1925 from Kharkiv at the Olympiysky stadium in Kyiv. Shakhtar has not played in Donetsk for years, with Russian separatists fighting there long before the invasion. Kharkiv is a frontline city in eastern Ukraine that is shelled on a daily basis.

In an emotional pre-match ceremony, the players of both teams and the referees entered the pitch wrapped in Ukrainian flags and unfurled a banner that read: "We are of the same courage." Then both teams commemorated the victims of the war with a minute's silence, the first symbolic kick of the ball was made by a wounded Ukrainian soldier.

"This is our job, and we perceive it as a very big responsibility to show the world that life in Ukraine does not stop but continues," Shakhtar's Croatian coach, Igor Jovicevic, told reporters ahead of Tuesday's game. "Football is one of the factors that gives emotions to the whole country and people who fight for all of us," he said.

Men wearing Ukrainian flags walk onto a green field of grass
Players of both teams entered the pitch wrapped in Ukrainian flagsImage: GLEB GARANICH/REUTERS

Games without spectators

The decision to start the season reportedly came from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who wanted to give the country a morale boost.

For safety reasons, all games will be played without spectators in Kyiv and in western Ukrainian cities away from the fighting.

Strict rules also apply to players and officials. In the event of an air raid alarm, the game will be stopped immediately and all participants will then have to go to shelters, which must be in the immediate vicinity of the stadium.

Two Premier League teams, FC Mariupol and Desna Chernihiv, have been allowed to skip the season with a right to return in the next one. The strategic Azov Sea city of Mariupol has been devastated and occupied by Russian troops, while Desna's stadium in northern city of Chernihiv was hit by a Russian rocket.

Interrupted season

Ukrainian football clubs decided in April to end last season early after it was suspended when Russia invaded on February 24.

Shakhtar Donetsk led Dynamo Kyiv by two points at the top of the table when the season was suspended, but the league decided not to award the title.

However, Shakhtar automatically qualified for the group stage of this year's Champions League. They now await Thursday's draw and will play their home games in Poland.

dh/rt (AFP, dpa, Reuters)