Football season starts in the middle of war! |
“Ukraine will win”
A step back to normality – where there is actually no normality.
The football season has started in Ukraine. In times of Russian war of aggression. President Volodymyr Zelenskyj himself is said to have made the decision to resume play. He wanted to boost the morale of the population.
The 0:0 between Shakhtar Donetsk and Metalist Kharkiv in the first game – a minor matter. Rather, it was regarding the signs that were set. They were signs of resistance, strength, solidarity.
Teams from two cities particularly affected by the years of hostilities with Russia met in front of empty ranks in Kyiv: Donetsk, the hometown of Shakhtar, has been under the control of pro-Russian separatists since 2014. Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city, has been under regular fire from the Russian army since the end of February.
Before kick-off, the Shakhtar players wore T-shirts with the inscription: “Ukraine will win”. There was a minute’s silence for the victims of the war. A Ukrainian soldier gave a symbolic kick-off. The Kharkiv team played in uniforms with the emblem of the Ukrainian army.
Game operations in the Ukrainian league had been interrupted since February 24, and the early end was decided in April. Now the restart, under massive security precautions. The stands will be empty, several clubs will not play in their home stadium but in the less war-affected regions of western or central Ukraine.
Two top division clubs are allowed to skip the season and come back in the following season. The war hit FC Mariupol and Desna Chernihiv too hard to afford to play.
The port city of Mariupol on the Black Sea was occupied by Russia in May following weeks of massive shelling. The stadium in Chernihiv was hit by a Russian missile.
