Kiev, Aug 23, (dpa/GNA) – Half a year after Russia’s invasion, the Ukrainian men’s football Premier League resumed on Tuesday, when Shakhtar Donetsk took on Metalist Kharkiv.
It was a 0-0 draw, held in Kiev’s Olympic Stadium. Shakhtar have not played in Donetsk for years, with Russian separatists fighting there long before the invasion.
Before the game, both teams commemorated the victims of the war with a minute’s silence, and a wounded war veteran was allowed to take the symbolic kick-off.
All matches will be played without spectators for security reasons, until further notice.
Strict rules also apply to the players and officials. In the event of an air raid siren, the game will be stopped immediately, and all participants must then go to protective shelters, which must be located in the immediate vicinity of the stadium.
Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, had personally lobbied for the resumption of the championship.
“I talked with Zelensky about the importance of distracting people with football,” said Andrij Pavelko, president of the Ukrainian Football Federation.
The season is starting without Desna Chernihiv and Mariupol, whose infrastructure was too destroyed by the war.
Most of the matches are to be played in Kiev and in western Ukrainian cities, away from the fighting. Playing abroad instead would have been the wrong sign and “artificial,” said Pavelko, who spoke of a “historic championship.”
GNA