Fenerbahce fans cheered Vladimir Putin against Ukraine’s Dinamo kyiv

After eight months, the ball was back in Ukraine. Despite the war, it was announced that from 23 August the championship will resume with special security measures and without fans in the stadiums. While some teams are waiting to return to the competition, many others are already adding minutes. This is the case of Dinamo Kyiv, who are looking for a place in the group stage of the Champions League.

And on this path to once again enter the most important club competition in Europe, Dinamo faced Turkish Fenerbahce in a match corresponding to the second qualifying round. The first leg, played in Poland, ended 0-0, in Turkey it was 2-1 in favor of the Ukrainians. But the result is minimal.

During this match the focus was on the stands, and the protagonists were the Fenerbahce fans. The match was more than tense from the start, which is reflected in the thirteen yellow cards shown by the referee. But what was really embarrassing was what happened in the stands.

With the average of the first quarter of an hour of the second half, the Ukrainians opened the game thanks to a goal from Vitaliy Buyalskyi. According to the Turkish press, the striker celebrated his goal in an “exaggerated” way, and this aroused the anger of the Turks. There, the first applause was heard for Vladimir Putin, the Russian president.

Putin’s government invaded Ukraine last March and has occupied much of the country ever since. With these chants, the Turks not only provoked the Dynamo Kyiv delegation, but also, generated protests by the Ukrainian embassy in Ankara.

And the first repercussions of this controversial ovation by the Turks had to do with the Ukrainian DT, Mircea Lucescu. First of all, the Romanian coach refused to attend the post-match press conference. Later he left some statements in dialogue with some Ukrainian media.

“I ask them if they counted how many fouls they committed against us. It was all in our plan and we won. But we don’t have fans; I didn’t expect these screams; a shame“, launched Lucescu, according to the Habertürk newspaper.

The intervention of UEFA

After the controversy, it was UEFA’s turn to act. The European body reported Thursday that it had opened an investigation, conducted by an ethics and discipline inspector, for Wednesday’s incidents. Due to the defeat in Istanbul, Fenerbahce will no longer play European competitions this year, but there could be a penalty for next season.

“In accordance with Article 31 of the UEFA Disciplinary Regulations, a UEFA Disciplinary and Ethics Inspector will conduct a disciplinary investigation into the alleged misconduct of Fenerbahce fans during the second round second leg match. UEFA Champions League qualifying match against Dinamo kyiv played on 27 July 2022 in Istanbul.

Fenerbahce took it upon themselves to apologize for what happened in the stands on Wednesday, assuring that the club “does not accept the reaction that has arisen in some stands.” Fans, on the other hand, celebrate the unusual reaction on social media. The Ukraine-Russia war, now, takes a strong step back into the world of football.