Ukraine and Russia both qualified for the 24-team tournament but a UEFA rule in place since 2014 to separate the two countries' national teams and club teams prevented them from being drawn together. “They can dream about what they want,” Valuev said, 'but Crimea is part of the Russian Federation and it's not up for discussion.” “Sports arenas aren't for political declarations.”Īnother Russian lawmaker, former professional boxer Nikolai Valuev, also condemned the Ukrainian uniform as an “unseemly attempt to politicize sports.” “It's setting the stage for a conflict using the uniform,” he said. Several Russian lawmakers also lashed out at the Ukrainian uniform's design.ĭmitry Svishchev, a member of the Russian parliament's lower house, denounced the Ukrainian uniform as a political gesture designed to draw sports into politics. Zakharova charged that the rant was used by Ukrainian nationalists, some of whom fought against the Soviet Union alongside the Nazis in World War II. She also ranted against the Ukrainian national slogan - “Glory to Ukraine, glory to the heroes!” - written on the uniform. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova scoffed at the design as a “desperate” gesture. “The shirt of the Ukrainian national team (and of all other teams) for UEFA Euro 2020 has been approved by UEFA, in accordance with the applicable equipment regulations,” the Switzerland-based organization said. Pavelko is a member of the executive committee of European soccer body UEFA, which signed off on the design for the tournament. Russia also has cast its support behind separatists in eastern Ukraine, where seven years of fighting has killed more than 14,000.Īndrii Pavelko, the president of the Ukrainian soccer association, presented the new uniform on Facebook on Sunday, hailing it as a symbol of the “single and undivided homeland” that would inspire players to ”fight for entire Ukraine.'

Most of the world hasn't acknowledged the annexation and international law still recognizes Crimea as Ukrainian territory. The yellow-and-blue Ukrainian design features a map of the country including Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula that Russia annexed in 2014 following the ouster of its Moscow-friendly president.

MOSCOW (AP) - A tense tug-of-war between Russia and Ukraine has spread to soccer, with Russian officials and lawmakers denouncing the design of the Ukrainian national team's shirt for this month's European Championship.

Euro 2020 ukraine shirt