Almost exactly half a year to the day after the start of the war, the ball is rolling again in Ukraine. With the match between Shakhtar Donetsk and Metalist Kharkiv, the highest Ukrainian football league resumed play on Tuesday afternoon. On the official flag day, the footballers were supposed to provide some distraction for the war-torn Ukrainians. The game between Shakhtar and Metalist ended 0-0.
The Russian war of aggression, which has put the country in a state of emergency since February 24, was also omnipresent at the start of the league. Before kick-off at Kyiv’s Olympiysky Stadium, both teams held a minute’s silence to commemorate the victims of the war, and an injured war veteran was allowed to carry out the symbolic kick-off. There was no cheering from the ranks, all games will take place without spectators for safety reasons until further notice. Strict safety rules also apply to the pros: In the event of an air raid alarm, the game is stopped immediately and everyone involved then has to go to a nearby shelter.
Croatia’s Schachtar coach Igor Jovicevic said ahead of the game: “It’s our job and we see it as a very big responsibility to show the world that life in Ukraine hasn’t stood still but is moving on.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj is said to have personally campaigned for the championship to be resumed. The start of the league is a “demonstration of the fearlessness of our people, the unbreakable spirit and Ukraine’s striving for the inevitable victory in the war with the Russian occupiers for independence,” says association president Andriy Pawelko.
Source: Nachrichten
