War at the doorstep: What happened to football in Ukraine?

War at the doorstep: What happened to football in Ukraine? War has been raging in Ukraine since 2014. Initially only in the east of the country, but since 2022 the entire country has been affected. Russia attacked - Ukraine has been defending itself ever since. But how has football changed in the country, can the domestic league still be played at all? We answer this question today. Football Worldwide on Social Media:   / footballworldwi.de     / footballworldwide2021     / footy_world21   Check it out and don't forget to subscribe to my channel. #Warinukraine #Footballinukraine But let's get started now. And let's jump back in time a little further than 2022, to the year 2014. In February of that year, Russia occupied the Crimean peninsula, which was part of the territory of Ukraine. There was a tense atmosphere throughout the country, President Viktor Yanukovych had fled and pro-European protesters as well as opponents of a change of power were demonstrating on the streets. But now to the football: at the time, 16 teams were playing in the league and due to the tense situation in Crimea, the league postponed the start of the second half of the season from the 1. to the 15. of March. After all, two teams were from Crimea: Sevastopol and Tavriya Simferopol. These teams also took part in the league again from March on. Four international teams were also still represented in the Europa League. However, only three were able to play their home games in Ukraine. Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk played at home in Dnipro against Tottenham, Chornomorets Odesa in Odesa against Lyon and Shakhtar Donetsk in Donetsk against Viktoria Pilsen. Dynamo Kyev, on the other hand, had to switch to Cyprus to play their "home game" against Valencia. This was the result of a UEFA decision. Incidentally, all four were eliminated in this round, the Round of 32. Back in the league: Tavriya Simferopol was initially in chaos. The oligarch and financier Dmytro Firtash was arrested in Vienna and only released on high bail. Naturally, home matches could no longer be played in Crimea under these circumstances. The club's Ultras consisted largely of pro-Ukrainian members, many of whom fled Crimea after the annexation. The club's funding from Ukraine collapsed from one day to the next. The team was then unable to reach its first "home game" in Kiev by plane at the beginning of March and had to take an eternal bus journey. Sevastopol also played its home games in Kiev for the time being, and the consequences were of course similar. In April, the teams were then able to play their matches in Crimea again at short notice, but in front of very few spectators and with extensive military protection. However, the situation in the entire country escalated over the course of 2014, with conflicts also arising in the Donbass region with the big city Donetsk. Pro-Russian forces proclaiming independence from Ukraine and the security situation becoming a major problem for football. The Ultras of many clubs took a clear pro-Ukrainian stance, organised protests and were also involved in some of the fighting in the eastern regions. For the first time, Ukrainian football faced a crucial test. After the 13/14 season, both Crimean teams were subsequently removed from the competition. Sevastopol was disbanded for the 14/15 season, re-established and then took part in a Russian league. Simferopol followed a similar path and the new club FC TSK Simferopol has also been playing in the Russian league system since the 14/15 season. A successor club was later founded in Ukraine, in Kherson, with the same people in charge, but it had to cease operations in 2022 after the Russian attack.