Thinking of making kits with political messages? Not at the Euros

Ukraine's midfielder Oleksandr Zubkov celebrates after scoring the opening goal during their friendly match against Northern Ireland in Dnipro on June 3, 2021, in preparation for the Uefa European Championship.

Photo credit: Sergei Supinsky | AFP

What you need to know:

  • That chant was used by protesters who ousted a Kremlin-backed leader during the Maidan demonstrations seven years ago.
  • The revolt was condemned by Moscow and sparked a crisis in ties between the two countries.
  • Russia annexed Crimea and supported Russian-speaking insurgents in Ukraine's east. The conflict has claimed the lives of more than 13,000 people.

Lausanne, Switzerland

Uefa on Thursday demanded that Ukraine make changes to their jersey for Euro 2020 to remove a "political" slogan that sparked protests from Russia.

European football's governing body said the message "Glory to our Heroes", a rallying cry during the 2014 anti-Russia protests in Ukraine that is featured inside the shirt, was "clearly political in nature".

On Tuesday Russia had sent a letter of complaint to Uefa over the yellow jersey which also features on the front the outline of Ukraine including Crimea, which was annexed by Russia in 2014.

But Uefa said the map would not need to be changed because a United Nations General Assembly Resolution "recognises the territorial borders as broadly depicted by the design".

The slogan "Glory to Ukraine" was also approved by Uefa as "on its own (it) may be considered as a generic and non-political phrase of general national significance".

That chant was used by protesters who ousted a Kremlin-backed leader during the Maidan demonstrations seven years ago.

The revolt was condemned by Moscow and sparked a crisis in ties between the two countries.

Russia annexed Crimea and supported Russian-speaking insurgents in Ukraine's east. The conflict has claimed the lives of more than 13,000 people.