A slogan on Ukraine’s European Championship jersey is causing a stir. Russia sees this as a political statement and has lodged a complaint with UEFA – with success. Ukraine now has to have their game shirts changed.
The European Football Union has reacted to the jersey dispute between the European Championship starters Ukraine and Russia and asked Ukraine to change the official game dress. A “political” slogan should be removed, said Uefa on Thursday.
The European Association announced that the message “Glory to our heroes”, which was chanted at anti-Russian demonstrations in 2014, had “a clear political orientation”.
“Draw attention to the use of political motives”
Russia had previously turned to Uefa with an official complaint. The association’s letter before the EURO, which started on Friday, said: “We are drawing attention to the use of political motifs on the shirt of the Ukrainian national team, which violates the basic principles of the UEFA Equipment Regulations.”
The Ukrainians’ jerseys so far show the outline of their country, including the Russian-annexed Crimea and the separatist-controlled regions of Donetsk and Lugansk. In addition, the words “Glory for Ukraine” and “Glory for the heroes” can be read, which are associated with the decades-long struggle for independence in Ukraine.
Ukrainian President endorsed design
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi explicitly welcomed the design on Tuesday. The jersey that Zelenskyj posed on Instagram was “in fact different from everyone else. It knows how to shock. It has several important symbols that unite Ukrainians”.
The spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Sakharova, had pointed out that Ukraine “has linked Ukrainian territory with Russian Crimea”. Sports politician Dmitri Swishchev described the jersey on the Russian TV station RT as “completely inappropriate” and added: “Then our players should be in T-Shirts go to the square where the outlines of the Russian Empire, which includes Poland, Ukraine and Finland, are depicted. “
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