In reaction to Russia’s threat of invasion, Ukrainian football teams are changing their club colors to blue and yellow as a gesture of togetherness. Kryvbas, the hometown club of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is said to have initiated the gesture of mirroring the Ukrainian flag and encouraged others to do the same.
Team Turn Crests Blue and Yellow
‘Regardless of the colors we defend on the pitch, we are all Ukrainian. In our DNA there are the two most important colors – blue & yellow,’ they said, according to London-based Ukrainian football account Zorya Londonsk on Twitter.
Polissya followed with the gesture and said: “At times like these it’s vital to unite & stick together. But also to identify yourself with the nation. Ukraine is one, united & indivisible. Ukraine is the Polissian forests, Carpathian hills, Crimean vineyards & Donetsk coal heaps.”
Heavyweight boxing champion Oleksandr Usyk made his debut for Polissya in their Winter Cup encounter against UPL Veres earlier in February. Olimpik Donetsk and Inhulets were two more teams to change their club crest colors to blue and yellow.
About the Ukrainian League Schedule
Despite the threat of Russian forces approaching, the Ukrainian football league is set to resume this Friday after a winter hiatus. The action resumes as Mynai, the second-bottom club, hosts Zorya Luhansk, the fourth-placed club.
While this round of matches appears to be on track, no one knows what will happen next or whether the season will be completed. Ukrainian football journalist Andrew Todos told Sportsmail: “The main message to the Ukrainian people now is to carry on. People are worried, but football helps to give some respite.”
The Ukrainian Premier League shrank to just 12 teams after violence erupted in the country’s eastern area in 2014, and it has only returned to 16 teams this season. On Wednesday morning, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss claimed that Russian President Vladimir Putin is now “hell-bent” on a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, with a frontal attack on Kiev’s capital ‘very likely’ in his plans.
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