In a sign of the deepening Russian-Ukrainian conflict, the dispute between the two countries has extended to football, specifically the UEFA Euro 2020 tournament scheduled for this month. Russian officials and legislators have condemned the design of the Ukrainian national team jersey for the upcoming European Championship.
The Ukrainian jersey, which is in yellow and blue, features a map of the country that includes the Crimean Peninsula, annexed by Russia in 2014 after the ousting of its pro-Moscow president. Most of the international community has not recognized this annexation, and international law continues to regard Crimea as Ukrainian territory.
Andriy Pavelko, president of the Ukrainian Football Association, presented the new kit on his Facebook page on Sunday, praising it as a symbol of a "united, indivisible homeland," which aims to inspire players "to compete for all of Ukraine," according to the Associated Press. The front of the yellow jersey displays the borders of Ukraine in white, while a slogan on the upper back reads "Glory to Ukraine!" and a phrase inside the jersey states "Glory to the Heroes!" Both phrases are used as official military greetings in Ukraine, as reported by Reuters.
Pavelko is also a member of the UEFA Executive Committee, which approved the design for the tournament. The committee, based in Switzerland, stated, "The Ukrainian national team jersey, as well as all other teams' kits for UEFA Euro 2020, was approved in accordance with applicable regulations."
However, Russia quickly rejected this, describing it as "provocative." Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova mocked the design, calling it a "desperate" gesture. Dmitry Svyshchov, a member of the Russian State Duma, denounced the Ukrainian uniform as a political gesture aimed at bringing sports into politics, adding that displaying a map of Ukraine "that includes Russian territories is illegal."
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the choice of Ukraine's uniform was the responsibility of the tournament organizers. When asked whether the Ukrainian jersey might exacerbate tensions if Ukraine and Russia faced each other in the knockout stage of the tournament, Peskov stated, "Sport is sport, and we need to rise above incitement of hate between Russians and Ukrainians."
On the other hand, the U.S. embassy in Kyiv expressed its approval of the new kit, tweeting, "We loved the new look. Glory to Ukraine." Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba also took to Twitter, stating, "I really love our team’s new kit," adding, "I can tell those who are worried because they cannot bear our internationally recognized borders or our official state greeting: We will not allow our national symbols to be insulted!"
