News

Premier League and clubs to pay tribute to Ukraine

24 Feb 2023
MW28 Ukraine MCIMUN

A year on from Russian invasion, football stands together at Matchweek 25 fixtures to remember those who have suffered

Related Articles
The Harrowing Moment Mykolenko Learned His Father Was At War External Link
Manor Remembers External Link
Matchweek 25 preview: Saturday's matches

To show our continued League-wide support to the people of Ukraine, the Premier League and its clubs will demonstrate that "Football Stands Together" in all matches taking place from 24-26 February.

The captains at the matches will wear armbands in Ukraine’s national colours of blue and yellow.

“Football Stands Together” badges made by hand by Ukrainian children temporarily displaced by the invasion will be available for managers to wear.

The same message of "Football Stands Together" will also be displayed to the fans at the stadiums via the big screens.

The millions of managers who play Fantasy Premier League will see the same messaging when checking their teams.

This display of solidarity will accompany the public moments across the UK that the UK Government, working closely with the government of Ukraine, will mark on 24 February.

As well as a national moment of silence at 11:00 GMT in the UK, national flags of Ukraine will fly at full mast at various public buildings, while other buildings will be lit up in yellow and blue. People can show their support on social media using the tags #StandWithUkraine and #StandForFreedom.

Oleksandr Zinchenko Vitalii Mykolenko embrace
Man City's Oleksandr Zinchenko and Everton's Vitalii Mykolenko, Ukraine team-mates, embrace ahead of their match last year immediately after the invasion of their country

Some Premier League footballers have been directly affected by the invasion.

A year ago, Everton’s Ukrainian left-back Vitalii Mykolenko had booked for his father to come and watch him at Goodison Park for the first time. Instead his mother phoned him to tell him his father, a builder, was joining the army.

"I was totally shocked," he told Evertonfc.com. "I cried. I remember the moment she told me vividly. I was driving into the training ground the day before the Manchester City game, the game he was supposed to be here for.

“This is a war. It was the second day and there was a sense of shock everywhere. I don’t have kids yet but I remember my first thought being, 'My father is never going to meet my kids.' "

“Now I get to speak to my parents every day but in those first months, I’d call my mother at least twice a day to check she was OK and to see how she was and if she had heard from him."

Escape to the border

Fulham winger Manor Solomon was playing for Shakhtar Donetsk, a team from the Donetsk region of Ukraine, which has borne the brunt of the Russian invasion.

“It was a terrible day,” Solomon told fulhamfc.com. “I woke up in the middle of the night when I heard explosions, so I turned on the TV and I opened my phone and I saw that some other players were texting asking what's going on.

“Nobody knew what was going on exactly, but we understood that something bad was happening. I got a driver to take me to the border. I took all the luggage that I could.

“It was a terrible day, really. It took us maybe 18 hours to get to the border.”

Solomon was able to flee quickly to his native Israel but still thinks of those who were unable to leave.

“I know that in Kyiv it's not normal,” he says. “Sometimes there are alarms and I think they cannot leave their homes after 11pm, so it's not a normal life and I just hope it will be finished as soon as possible, because it's terrible.”

Latest Videos

More Videos

Video is currently not available.

21 Nov 2024

From then to now: Pep Guardiola's Premier League journey

Look back on the Man City manager's career so far after he signed a new contract

Your details have been submitted successfully.

You have already entered this competition. Please check your email for further information.

Your details have been submitted successfully.

Create a Premier League account

Continue

You are logged in as

Enter your details