When football becomes political: Ukraine makes a clear statement with its European Championship jersey - in Russia they are anything but happy about it.
Kiev - The political conflict between Russia and Ukraine seems to be spilling over into the European Football Championship *.
And not because there is a threat of a clash - it's about a jersey.
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The Ukrainians presented their dress for the big tournament on Sunday.
Not surprisingly, the outfit is traditionally yellow.
The association deliberately causes a stir with one detail.
The outlines of Ukraine can be seen on the fabric, including the Crimean peninsula annexed by Russia.
EM 2021: Ukraine jersey causes a stir - Russia angry
The echo from the large neighboring country was not long in coming.
Several Russian MPs accused Ukraine of politicizing football.
The politician Dmitri Swishchev reacted angrily: "This is completely inappropriate," he told
RT
.
"Then our players should go to the field with T-shirts on which the outlines of the Russian Empire are depicted, which includes Poland, Ukraine and Finland," is his ironic counter-proposal.
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The slogans "Glory for Ukraine" and "Glory for the heroes" can also be read on the jersey, which are associated with Ukraine's decades-long struggle for independence.
The President of the Ukrainian Federation, Andrei Pawelko, proudly presented the robe on his Facebook page: "We believe that the silhouette will give strength to the players because they will fight for the whole of Ukraine".
He makes no secret of the political intention.
EM 2021: Russia makes statement on the Ukrainian jersey - officials call for a reaction from UEFA
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Sakharova pointed out that Ukraine "has linked Ukrainian territory with Russian Crimea". Mockingly, she said that the design was reminiscent of the art technique “trompe l'oeil”, which tricked the eye and created the “illusion of the impossible”. Several Russian officials are also calling for UEFA to react.
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