Soccer-US and UK embassies show solidarity with Ukraine over new shirt (updated)
11/06/2021 10:51
* Ukraine's new kit has caused outrage in Russia
* UEFA told Ukraine not to use phrase "Glory to the heroes"
* Spokesperson confirms plans to wear the new kit
(Adds embassies, team comment, TV)
By Pavel Polityuk
KYIV, June 11 (Reuters) - Ukraine's football association
adopted the phrase "Glory to the heroes" as an official slogan
on Friday, even though its use on the national team's shirt has
been banned by UEFA and caused outrage in Russia.
The U.S. and British embassies in Kyiv showed solidarity
with Ukraine over the new shirt, which is emblazoned with an
outline map of Ukraine that includes Russia-annexed Crimea, by
wearing it in photographs posted on Facebook.
"Can’t wait for kickoff on Sunday - don’t know who will win,
but the Ukrainian team will look great!" a caption read below a
photograph of the employees in the new kit that was posted on
the U.S. embassy's Facebook page.
Ukraine play the Netherlands in their first European
Championship match on Sunday, and a spokesman confirmed the
players planned to wear the new strip.
European soccer's governing body UEFA told Ukraine on
Thursday it could keep the outline map on the front of the
shirt. But it said it must remove the phrase "Glory to the
heroes" from inside the shirt because, as a military greeting,
it has "historical and military" connotations. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL5N2NS2HC
Andriy Pavelko, the President of the Football Association of
Ukraine, flew to Rome on Thursday for emergency talks with UEFA.
He said on Facebook that Ukrainian soccer executives had on
Friday morning approved "Glory to Ukraine", which also appears
on the shirt, and "Glory to the heroes" as official national
symbols.
They also approved the outline map of Ukraine including
Crimea as the association's official coat of arms, he said.
"Yes, we are going to play in this kit," Oleksandr
Glyvynsky, spokesperson for the Ukrainian team, told a televised
news conference in Romania.
Ukraine has said the shirt is a symbol of national unity.
"We love the national football team's new kit and thought
that this was a great way to express our support," U.S. Chargé
d'Affaires Kristina Kvien said in a statement sent to Reuters.
"We wear them (the kits) with pride in solidarity with Ukraine's
fight for its sovereignty and territorial integrity."
President Vladimir Putin has been dismissive of the fuss
over the kit but some Russian officials have objected to the
outline map because Russia annexed Crimea in 2014. The region
is, however, internationally recognised as part of Ukraine.
Relations between Moscow and Kyiv collapsed after the
annexation of Crimea and the start of a Russian-backed
separatist conflict in eastern Ukraine the same year.
(Reporting by Pavel Polityuk; Editing by Kim Coghill and
Timothy Heritage)
((pavel.polityuk@tr.com; +380 44 2449150; Reuters Messaging:
pavel.polityuk.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))