Football Club Dynamo Kyiv was founded in 1927 as Dinamo Kiev when Ukraine was in the U.S.S.R. It was the first Club in the Soviet Top League to challenge the domination of the Moscow Clubs; the first Soviet football Club to qualify for European football competitions; and the first to win one – the old European Cup Winners Cup. Dynamo Kyiv were the Ukrainian Premier League Champions in the 2020-21 season, and are currently second to great rivals Shakhtar Donetsk from the disputed Donbas region in eastern Ukraine.
Ukraine became the battleground between Russia and Nazi-Germany in the Second World War – the Eastern Front. Many professional footballers worked as bakers. In July and August 1942 during the Nazi occupation 8 Dynamo and 3 Locomotiv players formed the “Start” team and played exhibition matches. They were too successful. After 6 successive convincing victories over increasingly strong Nazi-German military teams players were taken by the Gestapo. One died under torture and the rest sent to Syrets Labour Camp. Three players were among the one-third of internees shot by guards in reprisal after a Partisan raid.
Ukraine is once again a battleground as its former masters the Russian Federation (“Russia”) try to reclaim it. Football has stopped even in the empty shelled streets. The sporting world has imposed sanctions on the aggressors. UEFA immediately moved the 2022 Champions League Final from St. Petersburg – President Putin’s hometown. Individual countries FAs who may have met Russia in World Cup play-offs have refused to do so, positions supported by FIFA who have now suspended Russia from International competitions.
What sanctions, if any, are the (English) Football Association (FA) and English Football League (EFL) proposing against Clubs who have Russian financial interests and ownership, and when? Is it enough to wait until an owner has sold-up and the Club is legitimized again, financially if not morally?
The next PLDs match is Watford v Arsenal on Sunday 6 March. Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov has been sanctioned and his UK assets frozen by the UK Government. He was formerly a shareholder in Arsenal FC and a sponsor, as he was of Everton FC who cut all ties with him before this Government action.
More than ever “Keep Safe” and enjoy your football, Andrew at PLDs.