Ukraine's jersey sparked controversy before Shevchenko's men entered into contention against the Netherlands
It features a map of the country where Crimea appears, annexed by Moscow in 2014 and a slogan that does not please Russia.
UEFA tries to keep both sides happy, but negotiations are complicated
Remember, it was last spring. A Ukrainian football shirt - that of modest Metal Kharkiv (3rd division) - was experiencing an improbable hype in Lyon under the effect of the signing of former OL hope, Fares Bahlouli. A nice tale, as the social networks know how to produce, which resulted in private messages on Instagram and one or two grouped orders to satisfy the frenzy of the gones supporters.
Three months later, another Ukrainian jersey, that of the selection, is in the center of attention.
This time, the story is a little more serious: it is that the jersey stamped on the country map presented by Ukraine for Euro 2021 offends the Russian neighbor, to whom two details have not escaped.
On the one hand, the famous map includes Crimea - annexed by Moscow in 2014 - and on the other hand, a formula with strong political connotations ("glory to Ukraine, glory to heroes") is hidden in the details of the dress.
"Sport power"
A double allusion to Maidan's pro-Western popular uprising in 2014 which ousted the Kremlin-backed president Viktor Yanukovych, whose current president Volodymyr Zelensky is not hiding. The latter wore the new tunic on Instagram on Tuesday after Russian criticism: “The new jersey of the Ukrainian football team is indeed not like the others. He can shock. It features several important symbols that unite Ukrainians. Add to that the applause from the British Embassy in Kiev, whose staff have proudly posed in the garb of discord, and you have a freezing climate in the middle of June.
Ми не могли не приміряти на собі нову форму збірної України з футболу
, на якій зображено мапу України у її міжнародно визнаних кордонах
, включно з Кримом.
Бажаємо всім командам успіху та нехай переможуть найсильніші!
💪 # ЄВРО2020 # КримЦеУкраїна pic.twitter.com/YGqYfiwLkh
- UK in Ukraine 🇬🇧🇺🇦 (@UKinUkraine) June 11, 2021
“It is clearly a strategy of soft power or sport power, analyzes Lukas Aubin, researcher specializing in Russia and author of
La Sportokratura under Vladimir Poutine: a geopolitics of sport.
The idea is to use the sporting event to exist on the international scene and to send a message that is quite clear through the two slogans and above all, more importantly by integrating Crimea and Donbass. It is a question here of bringing up to date the conflict which still exists between Russia and Ukraine and the war which continues in Dombass ”, a region partly managed by separatists supported by Moscow and over which Kiev seeks to regain control. since 2014, although the conflict has so far been relatively frozen. "But we know very well that the spark could restart the machine for the worse," warns Aubin.
For the moment, the fire does not take, but the two camps are engaged in a diplomatic battle by phone calls interposed to the UEFA which sometimes validates the Ukrainian jersey, whose borders are in conformity with international treaties, sometimes explains "after an analysis more thorough ”, that the mention“ Glory to our heroes ”is“ clearly of a political nature ”and“ must therefore be withdrawn […] in view of the matches of Euro 2021. ”
Are you not happy?
Godwin Point
A decision came to reward the work of undermining Moscow, some members of the government did their best to recall with a little bad faith that this song was formerly also sung by nationalists who marched alongside the Nazis. "During the war, this Nazi war cry was used by regular and irregular nationalist Ukrainian armed units," Maria Zakharova, spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, assured Sunday on the Telegram application, which in fact rewrites history a bit by omission. Details from our researcher:
“We must distinguish several things: on the one hand the slogan existed before the appearance of fascism and the Nazis in Germany. These two slogans were nationalist slogans intended to liberate Ukraine, grant it independence, and they dated from the beginning of the 20th century. Second, it is true that Ukrainian nationalists collaborated before and during World War II with the Nazis. They used this slogan as a vehicle for pride. But the slogan is not limited to that. Moreover, it is interesting to note that this argument of fascism and Nazism is regularly directed against countries of the former USSR which displease Moscow,because they do not respect the post-Soviet "pact" which wants Russia to be the depository of the Soviet heritage and that the former Soviet countries must pledge allegiance to it in a natural way. As soon as these countries do not respect it, this argument is brought out to them, which is literally a Godwin point. "
While the reaction may seem excessive, it should be understood that Russia's annoyance is not just geopolitical.
Because it had other plans for Euro 2021, which it intended to use to improve its image in line with the 2018 World Cup, especially since the package of Dublin as host city makes Saint Petersburg the equal of London to a match (7 games against 8).
“This is an additional blow for Russian sport, if we also count the six or seven years of doping cases and the resulting suspensions,” concludes Lukas Aubin.
Russia thought it could quietly take advantage of the Euro to give a good image of its country, but that will not be the case.
Before that, we will continue to talk about the tensions between the two countries.
"
UEFA does not satisfy anyone
The case nevertheless seems to be coming to an end. The mention "Glory to Ukraine" is considered valid by UEFA because on its own, it corresponds to a depoliticized fan song. This was not the opinion of Fifa at the 2018 World Cup. At the time, Zurich had tapped on the fingers of the Croatian Domagoj Vida - then player of Dynamo of Kiev - for having shouted the three words after the victory of his team on penalties against Russia.
On the other hand, the mention of glory to the heroes will be part of a new element added to the interior of the jersey, said on Facebook the president of the Ukrainian Football Federation (AUF) Andriï Pavelko.
According to UEFA, the Ukrainian selection will hide this phrase embroidered inside the collar of the yellow and blue tunic by a fabric representing "the map of Ukraine", surrounding "the logo of the federation".
"So we will not see it from the inside, or from the outside", assures the instance.
A small victory for Ukraine, which however ensures that the jersey available for sale will remain unchanged.
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