You're reading: Euro 2012 blog: Donetsk blamed for Ukraine loss

After Ukraine lost to France on June 15, some disappointed fans said it was because the Donbass Arena in Donetsk where the game was played was unlucky for the national team, which has never won there.

 Some politicians
and commentators took it a step further, claiming that playing in Donetsk was a
disadvantage for the team as the fans aren’t sufficiently supportive. Donetsk
is a primarily Russian-speaking city in Ukraine’s east where many are nostalgic
for the Soviet Union.

“The outcome of
the Ukraine-France game was predictable, because it was an away game! How can
one have two important matches in the city that never cheered for Ukraine! Lviv,
Kyiv and Kharkiv respect the national team a hundred times more! And what about
Donetsk?” wrote Mykola Tomenko, an opposition lawmaker from ex-Prime Minister
Yulia Tymoshenko’s party and deputy parliamentary speaker.

Many, both on
Facebook and offline, were angered by the post, like political analyst from
Donetsk Alexandr Kornilov, who said Tomenko’s words were “outrageous.”  “What did he mean we ‘played an away game?’”
he wrote.

Tomenko told Kyiv Post that what he meant was that “emotionally it felt like the away game for the national team” because of the Donetsk being under the “Russia’s influence”.   

He was not the
only one blaming Donetsk for the loss. Maryna Soroka, a spokeswoman for
Tymoshenko, also complained about the city on Facebook.  “Even nature is against the football matches
in Donetsk,” she wrote, referring to the rain storm that delayed the game. “Our
players felt support in Kyiv, but not in Donetsk. It is a pity. Also, I have a
question for the coach of Ukrainian team. Why did Mr. Blokhin not sing the
national anthem? He could have at least been opening his mouth if he does not
know the words. Maybe that is the reason why we lost?”

Some journalists contributed to the controversy. “Donetsk
is a long time sadness of Ukrainian football. Imagine how much alcohol will be
drunk there tonight, how many faces smashed and how many lives there will be in
nine months, conceived while drunk,” wrote Tetyana Danylenko, a journalist at
with Channel 5, on her Facebook page.

After
more than 120 angry comments she said she meant football fans, not the people
of Donetsk. Some demanded an apology and said Danylenko’s post offended the
whole city. “She labeled
Donetsk people as heavy drinkers, idiots who conceive children when drunk, and
who entertain  themselves by beating each
other,” says journalist Alexandr Chalenko, who was born in Donetsk and lives in
Kyiv.

Donetsk has a
chance to redeem itself when Ukraine plays England in its final Group D game on
June 19. Ukraine needs a win to qualify for the quarterfinals.

Kyiv Post staff
writer Svitlana Tuchynska can be reached at [email protected]