The dream is over for Ukraine. Despite a heroic performance against England – including a clear goal that wasn’t awarded – the Euro 2012 co-host is out of its tournament.
It was a painful loss for the Yellow-Blues, playing in front of over 40,000 Ukrainians packed into the Donbass Arena in Donetsk, with an estimated 100,000 more cheering them on from the fan zone on Khreshchatyk Street in downtown Kyiv.
The team was given a standing ovation as it left the field after dominating the game against England on June 19 but failing to find the goals and victory it needed to qualify for the quarterfinals. Four days earlier Ukraine had put in a lackluster performance to lose 2-0 to France, also in Donetsk.
Some blamed the referee for not spotting the goal in the England game. Others claimed it was the bad luck of the Donbass Arena, where Ukraine lost its two games and has never scored a win.
“The guys gave 100 percent,” said Andriy Shevchenko, Ukraine’s all-time top scorer, after the game. “We tried to give Ukraine a big gift with our play.”
The sting of the loss, however, was softened by the battling performance that almost saw Ukraine overturn a team ranked 46 places higher.
The continued praise of Ukraine by foreign fans has also cheered a nation that had been under intense criticism for its alleged racism, violence and unpreparedness for the game.
“Poland and Ukraine have delivered. People [of Poland and Ukraine] are saying thanks that you had confidence and trust in us. They have already won the Euros. The Championship can bring lots of very important things for the development of these countries,” said Michel Platini, head of Euro 2012 organizer UEFA.
Now, Ukraine will concentrate on hosting two quarterfinals (England versus Italy in Kyiv and France versus Spain in Donetsk) followed by a semifinal in Donetsk and the final in Kyiv on July 1.
“Of course I will be watching Euro matches after we are out. I will not support anyone as I did Ukraine, but will cheer for Spain and Germany,” said one fan, Mykola Shlapak.
It could have been different. After defeating Sweden, hopes were high that Ukraine could qualify from the group. A 2-0 defeat to France brought fans back to reality, but the team fought back with a much-improved performance against England.
Ukraine started brightly and had chances to score, but couldn’t convert them. England’s Wayne Rooney then capitalized on a mistake by goalkeeper Andriy Pyatov at the start of the second half to head England into the lead. Ukraine’s Marko Devic seemed to have equalized in the 63rd minute, but the referee failed to give the goal, despite video replays showing that the ball clearly crossed the line.
“What should I say? There were five referees on the pitch and the ball was 75 centimeters behind the goal line,” coach Oleh Blokhin said after the game. The furious legend of Soviet soccer even appeared to offer a journalist who criticized the team a fight.
The refereeing mistake angered Ukrainians, who blamed the officials for the defeat. “Are you blind or what?!!” popular daily Segodnya asked on its front page the day after the game. The Yellow-Blues would have needed to score again to qualify, but they would have had momentum and 30 minutes to score.
Digitally altered photos posted on social networks showed the referee, Viktor Kassai, holding a white stick and a picture of the goal line reshaped so the ball has not crossed it.
Tournament organizer UEFA later admitted it was a goal, and Sepp Blatter, head of world football governing body FIFA, called goal-line technology a “necessity.”
Others decided to blame the defeats on the fact that the game took place at the Donbass Stadium in Donetsk, where the team has never won.
Some politicians and commentators claimed 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 identify more with a post-Soviet Russian culture.
“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?” Mykola Tomenko, an opposition lawmaker from ex-Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko’s party and deputy parliamentary speaker, wrote on Facebook.
Fans in the stadium on June 19 belied this criticism, blasting out a powerful national anthem, turning up in national dress and loudly booing the English opponents.
“People were buying a lot of national flags, wearing national colors, singing the anthem on the streets and cheering. It was amazing. I think the one match in Donetsk did more for the unification of people from different parts of Ukraine than all politics,” said Anna Molchanova, a journalist in Donetsk.
After the game, Ukraine’s team turned its attention to the future. National hero Shevchenko announced his retirement after 111 caps. Strike partner Andriy Voronin is also quitting international football.
Shevchenko said the team – which contains a number of top players in their early 20s – has a good chance of qualifying for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
“It’s time to make room for younger players,” he said. “Ukraine has a bright future.”
Kyiv Post editor James Marson can be reached at [email protected] and staff writer Svitlana Tuchynska at [email protected].
