The Ukrainian football federation claimed to have reached "a compromise" with UEFA on the maintenance on its jersey of a slogan deemed "political" by the European body against the backdrop of the Russo-Ukrainian conflict. Initially placed on the collar of the jersey, the slogan, "Glory to the Heroes" will be part of a new element added to the interior of the jersey.
The Ukrainian football federation said on Friday that it had reached "a compromise" with UEFA on the maintenance on its jersey of a slogan deemed "political" by the European body against the backdrop of the Russo-Ukrainian conflict.
"The negotiations" were "extremely difficult and ended in deadlock on several occasions", but "we still managed to reach a compromise with UEFA," wrote the president of the Ukrainian Association on Facebook. Football Association (AUF) Andriï Pavelko.
The slogan added inside the jersey
The slogan "Glory to the Heroes" will be part of a new element added to the interior of the jersey, he said, hinting that the phrase will be removed from its original placement at the collar.
"He will certainly become a real lucky charm for our guys," added the head of emergency to Rome the day before to negotiate this issue with representatives of UEFA.
This "asked us to completely remove the slogan or to cover it", he continued, assuring that the design will remain unchanged on "millions" of jerseys intended for the general public whose sale should begin next week.
Russian protests
Called upon by Russian protests, UEFA asked Thursday for a modification of the Ukrainian jersey, on the eve of the opening of the Euro football (11 June-11 July), finally deeming "political" the mention "Glory to the heroes "denounced by Moscow. UEFA, on the other hand, validated the map of Ukraine appearing on the jersey and including Crimea, which Moscow annexed in 2014, recalling that it corresponded to the country's internationally recognized borders. It also rejected the Russian appeal against the slogan "Glory to Ukraine", endorsed by UEFA since 2018.