Deserted stadiums, martial law and air-raid shelters: this was the return of football to Ukraine, in the midst of the war

Surely no one will remember Rostyslav Rusyn’s header deflected for a corner by goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin in the 9th minute of the first half or Mykhaylo Mudryk’s free kick that touches the left corner of the goal defended by Oleg Mozil in the 34th minute of the second period. Even the 0-0 between Shakhtar Donetsk and Metalist 1925 will be nothing more than a statistical record. What will become memory and history will be this meeting marked the start of the 2022/23 season of the Ukrainian Premier League and the return of football to a country that still lives in war and where martial law is in force.

The stands of the Olympic Stadium in Kyiv, with a capacity of 70,000 spectators, were deserted, as they will be located in each of the venues where the matches of the tournament will be played, in accordance with the provisions of the Ministries of Defense and the Interior, the National Police and State Emergency Service in the protocol that needed to be approved for the ball to roll again after 305 days. However, that didn’t detract from the excitement of the event.

It was not an ordinary day for Ukrainians, as 23 August is celebrated in that country as National Flag Day. That’s why the 22 protagonists of the meeting they went out to the camp wrapped in pavilions (as the national team players had done in each of their performances since the start of the armed conflict) and so they lined up in the center of the pitch, from where they listened to the anthem performed by singer, actor and director Mykhailo Khoma.

While Khoma sang, a flag was hoisted on a pole at the foot of the field by captains Taras Stepanenko and Artem Gabelok. Then the players of both teams took a joint photo with a banner with the slogan “We have the same courage”. Before the start of the match, the kick-off of which was given by a member of the Armed Forces, all present a minute of silence in memory of the victims of the war.

This was followed by 90 minutes of football in which Shakhtar, who were in the lead last season before the cancellation of the championship without consecrating a champion (for this he qualified for the Champions League), was slightly higher, although the most obvious possibilities were for the visiting team, which are playing their second season in the Ukrainian first division. Neither managed to break zero, although neither was too dissatisfied with it.

“Starting the championship at a moment like this is a show of great courage. I think the opening match was a success, the match was interesting “, highlighted Valery Kriventsov, coach of Metalist 1925, who opened the press conference with a special thanks:” To the Armed Forces that protect and defend us ” .

This match was the first to be played on Ukrainian soil since 12 December 2021, when Kolos Kovalivka defeated Minaj 2-1 at home before the traditional start of the winter break. So the competition was scheduled to resume on February 25, but a day before Russian army troops entered Ukrainian territory and football entered a hiatus that only ended on Tuesday.

In these eight months, the Premier League teams have had to rearm, mainly due to the departure of the a significant number of players, especially foreigners (When the last tournament was suspended, 98 foreigners played in the 16 teams, while only 47 started this championship). For example, Shakhtar lost several of his figures, such as the Brazilians Dodô and Marlon, who left the country, as well as the Italian coach Roberto De Zerbi (he was replaced by the Croatian Igor Jovicevic).

The tournament that opened with a goalless draw between Shakhtar Donetsk and Metalist 1925 it will cover 30 dates and will end on June 3rd, although it will have a long winter break between November 26 and March 4. The classics between Shakhtar and Dynamo kyiv will be played on October 15th and April 22nd. All this if the delicate situation that the country is going through allows football to keep its calendar.

The dispute of the meetings will be linked to the authorizations that must be issued by the military administrations of each of the regions where the activity will be scheduled. All matches will be played behind closed doors and in stadiums equipped with anti-aircraft sirens and air-raid shelters. If an alarm is triggered during a match, the game stops immediately and the players, the members of the technical bodies and the referee team, and the staff dedicated to the organization must go quickly to the shelter and remain there until the alarm has ceased.

At the moment, the stadiums approved for this tournament are in Kyiv and in the west of the country (Lviv, Lutsk, Uzhhorod), far from the areas most affected by the war. This forced clubs like Chornomorets Odessa, Dnipro and FK Oleksandriya to relocate their headquarters. This is not the first time this has happened since 2014, when the conflict started in the Donbas region, Zorya Luhansk (settled in Zaporizhia) and Shakhtar Donetsk (went through Lviv and Kharkov before settling in Kiev).