You're reading: Football world condemns Shakhtar Donetsk for foulest fair play

 Shakhtar Donetsk predictably advanced to the knockout phase of the Champions League after a 5-2 win over Denmark's Nordsjaelland on Nov. 20, but not without controversy. The match will mostly be remembered for Shakhtar’s questionable equalizer in the 26th minute that outraged the football world and caused condemnation of the Donetsk team, especially its striker Luiz Adriano.

Play was stopped
when Nordsjaelland striker Morten Nordstrand was injured, and with Shakhtar
losing 1-0. Under fair play rules, the visiting Shakhtar team was supposed to
return the ball. Shakhtar’s midfielder Willian Borges da Silva appeared to have
done that by kicking the uncontested drop ball to the Danish side of the field
toward the goalkeeper. But Brazilian striker Luiz Adriano failed to read the
script, took the ball amid a frozen defense and rounded the Nordsjaelland
goalkeeper with an easy score.   

An argument
ensued on the pitch between both sides, but the Ukrainian champions again
failed to show any sportsmanship when they did not allow the Danish team to
score straight after the ensuing kickoff, despite apparent instructions to do
so from the Ukrainian bench.

Half the
Shakhtar team stood aside to let the goal through, but some Shakhtar players,
notably Taras Stepanenko refused to allow the fair play goal and diffuse the
situation.   

 The dubious goal led to a huge flow of Twitter
comments that called the Ukrainian team a disgrace and the goal by Adriano an
example of unsportsmanlike conduct.

The Danish coach, Kasper
Hjulmand, was furious after the match and said: “I don’t know if Shakhtar are
bandits, but some of their players, bosses and coaches are without morals.”

Shakhtar coach Mircea
Lucescu tried to defend his team’s actions after the match by calling it “a
pity it happened.”

But condemnation continued
today from media around the world.

England’s biggest tabloid,
The Daily Mail, called Shaktar “cheats,” while Italy’s biggest sports newspaper
Gazetta Dello Sport asked: “What are you doing, Shakhtar? – On to round 16 on a
scandalous goal?”

Spanish sports magazine
Marca called the goal “dirty” and imbedded an intensive video of what it called
the “anti-fair play goal,” which also points to an episode in 2008 when Shakhtar
coach Lusescu was furious at a Barcelona goal he felt wasn’t fair play. German website
suddeutsche.de kept its tone down to call it a “Goal-Fraud.”

The Union of European
Football Associations’ – Europe’s top football governing body –disciplinary committee
will decide after tonight’s Champions League round if they will take any action
against Shakhtar.

The goal can be viewed here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RpRKIzLCTE      

Kyiv Post intern Jesper Larsen can be reached at [email protected].