UEFA fines Ukraine for banner about terrorist state

UEFA fines Ukraine for a poster of fans, the Court of Appeal returns the Russians, and a diver flees to Russia. Read about this, as well as about the records and victories of our athletes and teams, in the digest of sports events from Intent.

Sport "outside politics" plays along with Russians again

• UEFA has fined Ukraine 34,000 euros for the behavior of fans at matches against Bosnia and Iceland in March 2024. The fine was 10,000 for running onto the field, 9,000 for using pyrotechnics, and 15,000 for a banner stating that Russia is a terrorist state.

Emotions of the Ukraine vs. Iceland match . PHOTO: UAF

• In the document of the European organization, the text on the banner was classified as "political and provocative" and it was also noted that such statements are unacceptable in the framework of sporting events. In its response, the Ukrainian Football Association (UAF) refused to recognize the violation. Representatives of the association stated that they did not restrict and do not intend to restrict fans from placing such banners.

Cross-country skiing is one of the sports under the auspices of the FIS. PHOTO: Nordic Focus

• UEFA is not the only institution that has been actively playing along with the Russians this week. The Court of Appeal for Sport in Lausanne has partially upheld an appeal filed against the decision of the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS), which had banned Russian athletes from international competitions in neutral status.

Sofia Lyskun, no longer a Ukrainian. PHOTO: AP

• Sometimes it is not only distant international organizations that choose the side of Russia, but also athletes who have been supporting Ukraine for many years. Diving jumper Sofia Lyskun, who has been competing for Ukraine for many years, in particular in duets with Mykolaiv athletes Oleksiy Sereda and Ksenia Bailo, suddenly decided to renounce her Ukrainian citizenship in favor of Russian. Lyskun cited the allegedly incompetent approach to training athletes in Ukraine as the reason for her change of sports citizenship. She also complained that she had not been able to train in Kyiv in recent years (I wonder why). And of course, she mentioned "sports outside politics." We'll leave this without comment.

Events of the week

• Freediver Kateryna Sadurska has updated the world record for the ninth time in her career!

Kateryna Sadurska. PHOTO: Daan Verhoveen

• In the constant weight dive without fins, Kateryna dived 88 meters, which is 2 meters more than the previous record of the Ukrainian.

Nikita Sheremet. PHOTO: Global Images Ukraine

• Another world record, this time among juniors, was set by 18-year-old swimmer Nikita Sheremet from Odesa. The young man swam the 50-meter freestyle in the relay stage of the European Championships in 20.84 seconds, updating the Ukrainian record (among adults). Nikita also qualified for the finals of the individual 50-meter freestyle.

The reconstruction project of the Krayan sports complex. PHOTO: Odesa Regional Football Association

• Reconstruction of the Krayan Stadium has begun in Odesa. According to the regional football association, it will now be called Odeschyna, and in general, the space should become a key center for training and development of grassroots football in the region.

The draw for the FIFA World Cup. THE DRAW FOR THE WORLD CUP: Suspilne Sport

• The Ukrainian national football team has learned the names of its hypothetical opponents at the World Cup. If the Ukrainians get past the Swedes and the winners of Poland-Albania, they will play against the Netherlands, Tunisia, and Japan at the World Cup.

Games and results

• "Niko Basket won its fourth victory in the Super League.

Players of IBC Niko Basket. PHOTO: fbu.ua

• In a dramatic match against Cherkasy Monkeys in the last seconds of the match, the guests managed to snatch a narrow victory. The decisive shot was made by Oleksandr Garbar 9 seconds before the end of the match. In the second game in Cherkasy, against Kharkiv Falcons , they failed to repeat their success, as Kharkiv secured a comfortable lead thanks to accurate three-pointers.

Diana Holod, Balta. PHOTO: cev.eu

• "Balta finished the CEV Challenge Cup at the 1/16 finals stage. The Ukrainian team managed to beat the Croatian "Sky" in one of the two matches, but the Croatians went further due to the total difference in sets.

Players and coach of HC Odesa. PHOTO: Ukrainian Handball

• " Odesa twice easily defeated the outsiders of the Handball Super League. In the women's competition, Real defeated Proskuriv twice in the battle for 5th place .

Odesa vs. Kryzhynkamatch. PHOTOS: Ice Hockey Federation of Ukraine

• "Odeschyna defeated Kryzhynka-Capitales - from Kyiv twice in one week, both on the road and on their home ice."Storm lost to Sokol in a postponed game. Storm continues to rank third in the league, while Odesa is fourth.

As usual, we wish you and your favorite athletes and teams all the best!

Адлен Муатс