"Let our players then take to the pitch in T-shirts featuring the contours of the Russian empire that include Poland, Ukraine and Finland."Īnatoly Vorobyov, the former general secretary of the Russian Football Union, said European football's governing body might interfere if Russia formally protests. "This is totally inappropriate," lawmaker Dmitry Svishchyov told Kremlin-backed RT, formerly known as Russia Today, urging UEFA to react. Several Russian MPs accused Ukraine of politicising football. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, speaking to state news agency TASS, declined to comment and referred all questions to European football's governing body UEFA. "During the war this Nazi battle cry was used by regular and irregular nationalist Ukrainian armed units," Zakharova said on messaging app Telegram. Zakharova also said that Euro 2020 organisers and fans "should know" that the Ukrainian rallying cry "imitates" the infamous Nazi slogan. The design, she said, brings to mind the art technique of "trompe l'oeil" that tricks the eye and creates the "illusion of the impossible".
Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova derided the football kits, saying Ukraine's football team "attached Ukraine's territory to Russia's Crimea." The slogans have drawn criticism from Moscow for its association with World War II-era nationalist groups who both fought against and cooperated with the Nazis. The "Glory to Ukraine" call and "Glory to the Heroes" response are associated with Ukraine's decades-old fight for independence.
The conflict has claimed the lives of over 13,000 people since 2014. Russia annexed Crimea and supported Russian-speaking insurgents in Ukraine's east. The revolt was condemned as illegal by Moscow and sparked a crisis in ties between the two countries. The "Glory to Ukraine" slogan is a patriotic chant that became a rallying cry for protesters who ousted a Kremlin-backed leader, Viktor Yanukovych, during a popular uprising in 2014. "We believe that Ukraine's silhouette will give strength to the players because they will fight for all of Ukraine," Pavelko said. The football kits feature the contours of Ukraine that include Russia-annexed Crimea and the separatist-controlled regions of Donetsk and Lugansk as well as the words "Glory to Ukraine! Glory to the Heroes!"
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