"Obvious political statement": how the Russian Federation reacted to the design of the uniform of the Ukrainian national football team with the silhouette of Crimea

The Ukrainian national football team has presented the form in which the team will play at the European Championship - 2020. The tournament starts on June 11. The layout on his Facebook page was posted by the head of the Ukrainian Football Association (UAF) Andriy Pavelko. The design turned out to be quite unusual. Firstly, the chest depicts the outlines of the country, which includes both the territories of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics, and the Crimea peninsula, which is not part of the state - in 2014, following a referendum, the peninsula was reunited with Russia.

“We believe that the silhouette of Ukraine will add strength to the players, because they will fight for the whole country.

And all of Ukraine, from Sevastopol and Simferopol to Kiev, from Donetsk and Lugansk to Uzhgorod, will support them in every match.

This is extremely important for the players who are very worried and dream of performing better at Euro 2020, and for the millions of our fans who believe in the team of Andriy Shevchenko.

Football and national team - unite Ukraine!

Glory to Ukraine, ”wrote Pavelko.

Moreover, on the back of the players the nationalist phrase "Glory to Ukraine" will be embroidered, and on the inside of the T-shirt its second part - "Glory to the Heroes!"

According to the head of the UAF, this slogan should inspire the team to new victories.

The players of the Ukrainian national team have not yet commented on the appearance of the new uniform, but the head coach Andriy Shevchenko liked it.

“What I saw - yes, everything is in order.

The guys should play in it, not me, we need to know their opinion, ”the specialist said at a press conference before the friendly match with Cyprus, which will take place on Monday.

"Ukraine can draw Alaska, Africa and Antarctica there"

In Russia, the “inclusion” of Crimea into Ukraine has caused outrage.

So, State Duma deputy Dmitry Svishchev called the neighbors' act "a political demarche and provocation."

“It doesn't fit into any gate.

I am sure that UEFA should react toughly to what happened.

This strange act contains a time bomb, "Svishchev emphasized in an interview with RT.

As a response, the deputy invited all teams to enter the field in a uniform containing political slogans and appeals.

“Crimea has been an integral territory of Russia for seven years already.

Then let our players enter the field in T-shirts with the outline of the Russian Empire with Poland, Ukraine and Finland in their squad.

Nobody comes to such an absurdity.

The Ukrainian national team still has time to sew a new uniform in order to go to the European Championship not to work out political slogans, but to fight for the honor of their country in their favorite sport, ”Svishchev added.

And his colleague Svetlana Zhurova, an Olympic champion in speed skating, drew attention to another point.

According to her, the UAF had to agree in advance with UEFA on the design of the uniform in which the local team is going to compete in Euro.

“Before all major competitions at the beginning of the season, models of uniforms are sent to the international federations in various sports, in which these or those national teams will perform.

The design is agreed upon before putting the equipment into production, so that unpleasant nuances do not appear later.

It is difficult to say whether a similar rule exists in football, but this is the case in other sports.

If the Ukrainian team has agreed on a similar design, this is one thing.

If you initially agreed on a different option, it is completely different, "Zhurova emphasized in an interview with RT.

At the same time, she recalled that this is not the first time Ukraine has behaved provocatively.

“I see this at every PACE session when I come there.

We know what accusations are pouring in there against Russia and our president.

And they continue to do so.

The Ukrainians have their own convictions and their own teams in this regard.

I admit that the Euro uniform was not made without a team.

It is unlikely that this is an amateur performance.

The goal is to offend Russia.

An obvious political statement.

Who and when placed the outline of the country on their uniform?

I don’t remember that.

You cannot do this at competitions, ”added Zhurova.

The official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova also spoke about the uniform of the Ukrainian national team, who called it "a desperate artistic action."  

“This is not new.

It is called a trompe-l'œil - a method of depiction and a set of techniques that create the illusion of the impossible, or, on the contrary, the presentation of the accessible, tangible, but in fact non-existent.

In the Russian language there is a simple analogue of the complex term - "blende", - wrote Zakharova in Telegram.

In turn, the deputy of the State Duma from Crimea Ruslan Balbek suggested that the decision about the appearance of the uniform of the Ukrainian national team was dictated by “mercantile” interests.

“What an image step - Crimea and Donbass on the T-shirts of the national team: grateful calls from the government, the promise of generous subsidies ... After all, all countries, including the collective West, know that Crimea is a part of Russia.

Why mislead people through football, ”Balbek said in an interview with RT.

At the same time, it is not yet clear whether UEFA will allow the Ukrainian team to play in such ammunition or will require the team to play in a different form.

According to the former General Secretary of the RFU Anatoly Vorobyov, it is hardly worth waiting for serious sanctions against neighbors.

“UEFA, as a rule, does not get involved in this kind of story.

It's another matter if an official protest comes from Russia.

Then the leadership of European football can react.

In the meantime, they have a more serious task in the form of holding the European Championship in several countries in the context of the coronavirus pandemic, "the functionary explained to RT.

In his opinion, the designers of the national team uniform used "hallucinogenic mushrooms".

“You shouldn't make a serious informational occasion out of what happened.

Everyone uses these things to promote certain political views.

I don’t want to seem banal, but sport should remain outside of politics.

Unfortunately, in our time this is not always the case, "added Vorobyov.

But the honorary president of the RFU Vyacheslav Koloskov, on the contrary, suggested that UEFA would definitely react and prohibit the form, since the regulations clearly state which flags and symbols can be displayed on it.

The functionary believes that in such T-shirts, Ukrainians will be able to appear only in training, but not in official matches.

Finally, the well-known commentator Dmitry Guberniev advised to be more calm about what had happened and not to stir up a scandal out of the blue.

According to him, every country has the right to depict anything on its uniform.

“Ukraine can draw Alaska, Africa and Antarctica there, no problem. Every country draws what it wants. This is their form. Here I am standing next to Lesha Nemov, he is a four-time Olympic champion. And I can say that I am five times. Can I? Whether this will be true - I'm not sure. Let them paint what they want. I’m flying to Simferopol and I don’t see Ukrainian border guards there ”, - quotes the words of the Championat journalist.