AP

Ukraine soccer league defies Russian war to begin season

Aug 22, 2022, 12:08 AM | Updated: 2:59 pm

FILE - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks during an interview with The Associated Press...

FILE - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in his office in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, April 9, 2022. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he's committed to pressing for peace despite Russian attacks on civilians that have stunned the world. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka, File)

(AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka, File)

Under threat of Russian attacks in a war that stopped all soccer in Ukraine in February, a new league season starts Tuesday in Kyiv with the goal of restoring some sense of normal life.

The elegant Olympic Stadium has staged the biggest European soccer games in the past decade though none as poignant as the opening-day meeting of Shakhtar Donetsk and Metalist 1925 from Kharkiv — teams from eastern cities that are fighting for their very existence.

No fans will be allowed in the 65,000-capacity downtown stadium for the 1 p.m. local time kickoff and the players must be rushed to bomb shelters if air-raid sirens sound.

“We have rules in case of an alarm and we should go to be underground,” Shakhtar captain Taras Stepanenko said Monday in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. “But I think the teams, the players will be proud of this event.”

“We are ready, we are strong and I think we will show to all the world Ukrainian life and will to win,” the national-team veteran said.

The Ukrainian Premier League returns with the blessing of the nation’s leaders and in a week heavy with meaning.

Tuesday is Ukraine’s national flag day and Wednesday — Aug. 24 — is the celebration of independence from control by Moscow that the former Soviet Union republic declared in 1991.

“I spoke with our president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, about how important football is to distract,” Ukraine soccer federation president Andriy Pavelko told the AP in June about the commitment to restart. “We spoke about how it would be possible that football could help us to think about the future.”

No competitive soccer has been played in Ukraine since mid-December when the league paused for a scheduled midwinter break. Games were due to resume on Feb. 25, until the Russian military invasion started one day earlier.

The 16-team league restarts without Desna Chernihiv and Mariupol, teams from cities that have suffered brutal destruction.

All games will be played in and around Kyiv and further west and will be shown domestically, abroad and on YouTube in a deal with broadcaster Setanta agreed last week. The total value of $16.2 million over three years is less than some elite English Premier League players will earn this season.

The concept of home-field advantage may have gone for most teams though simply playing on Ukrainian soil — other games Tuesday are in Kyiv, Uzhhorod and Kovalivka — is remarkable.

Ukrainian clubs fulfilling their games in UEFA’s European competitions in recent weeks played in neighboring Poland and Slovakia, or Sweden, to ensure the safety of opponents like Benfica and Fenerbahçe.

Shakhtar, which was top of the domestic standings when last season was formally abandoned, will host opponents at Legia Warsaw’s stadium when the Champions League group stage starts Sept. 6. The groups are drawn Thursday.

Just 10 months ago, Stepanenko and Shakhtar faced eventual title winner Real Madrid in a Champions League game at the Olympic Stadium — the same field where the storied Spanish team won the final in 2018.

Last season, Shakhtar could field the core of Brazilian players it became famous for, funded by billionaire businessman Rinat Akhmetov who also owns the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol.

Those star players have now left Ukraine and Shakhtar will rely more on young, homegrown talent, just like its traditional rival Dynamo Kyiv, which starts Sunday against Dnipro-1.

“Of course, it’s a new team,” Stepanenko acknowledged, adding: “We feel confident because we play for our country and for our people.”

___

More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

AP

Associated Press

Ex-Packer Guion gets 1 year for domestic violence assault

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Former Green Bay Packers defensive tackle Letroy Guion was sentenced to one year in jail after pleading no contest in a domestic violence assault at his home last fall. Brown County Circuit Court Judge Thomas Walsh also ordered Guion on Tuesday to serve three years’ probation and complete a domestic […]

1 year ago

Joe Jarzynka...

Associated Press

Durant eager for Suns debut vs. Hornets after knee injury

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Kevin Durant has been through quite a bit during his 15-year NBA career — but joining a new team midway through the season is a new one for the 13-time All-Star. The 34-year-old Durant doesn’t seem all that worried. Durant makes his highly anticipated Phoenix Suns debut on Wednesday night against […]

1 year ago

FILE - Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores stands on the sideline during the second half of an N...

Associated Press

Judge: NFL coach can press discrimination claims in court

NEW YORK (AP) — NFL Coach Brian Flores can pursue some of his discrimination claims against the league and its teams in court rather than through arbitration, a judge ruled Wednesday. The written decision by Judge Valerie Caproni in Manhattan was issued months after lawyers for the league tried to get the lawsuit moved to […]

1 year ago

Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Alex Stalock cools off in the first period during an NHL hockey game ...

Associated Press

Kane trade reinforces hard reality of Blackhawks rebuild

CHICAGO (AP) — After days of speculation, the harsh reality of the Chicago Blackhawks’ situation was reinforced by one move in a flurry of transactions ahead of the NHL trade deadline. Showtime is over, at least in Chicago, and a seemingly bright future is, well, way off in the distance. The reverberations of Chicago’s decision […]

1 year ago

FILE -  Yves Jean-Bart, president of the Haitian Football Federation, wearing a protective face mas...

Associated Press

Disgraced ex-Haitian soccer president announces he’s back

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Haiti’s former soccer federation president whose lifetime ban from sport over sexual abuse allegations was overturned last month announced Wednesday that he is reclaiming his position. Yves Jean-Bart’s defiant announcement could lead to a standoff with FIFA, which already has appointed an emergency management committee to lead the Haitian Football Association […]

1 year ago

FILE - Green Bay Packers' Aaron Rodgers walks off the field after an NFL football game against the ...

Associated Press

Rodgers says decision on future will come ‘soon enough’

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Aaron Rodgers says he will make a decision on his future “soon enough” as the four-time MVP quarterback ponders whether to play next season and if his future remains with the Green Bay Packers. Rodgers, 39, discussed his future while speaking on an episode of the “Aubrey Marcus Podcast” that […]

1 year ago

Ukraine soccer league defies Russian war to begin season