Ukrainian club Dynamo Kyiv told Turkish rival Fenerbahce it had “blood on its hands” from travelling to Russia to face Zenit St. Petersburg on Sunday in a preseason game.
This is the most recent dispute between two clubs that met in the qualifying rounds of the Champions League and Europa League last season, and it is possible that they will meet in a few weeks in the Europa Conference League.
Dynamo posted one on its Instagram account with red accents on the blue logo of Russian electricity giant Gazprom, owner and longtime sponsor of Zenit’s jersey.
“The damn money from Gazprom has eclipsed everything for you, it has left you without honor or conscience,” said Dynamo, Istanbul’s legendary club.
Gazprom left UEFA as a sponsor of the Champions League and Euro 2024 days after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February last year.
UEFA also eliminated all Russian groups from its competitions and put the country at a disadvantage of hosting the 2022 Champions League final at St. Petersburg’s Zenit Stadium, where Fenerbahce played on Sunday.
“Nothing can justify this approach,” the Kiev club wrote on Sunday. “No cash can compensate for this shameful behavior, this murderer without morals or human qualities. “
Fenerbahce said it accepted Russia’s invitation after Zenit in Istanbul. The groups played a charity match in March to raise the aid budget several weeks after the earthquake in the Turkish-Syrian border region.
A year ago, when Fenerbahce and Dynamo met in a Champions League qualifying round, Istanbul enthusiasts chanted Vladimir Putin’s call after the Ukrainian took the lead in a game they would win.
Fenerbahce later said the fans’ chanting constituted the club’s view, but also warned that the Dynamo players’ “exaggerated gestures” had served as a provocation.
UEFA fined the Turkish club 50,000 euros ($55,000) for the incident. There were no disciplinary instances when the organisations met twice more last season in the organising phase of the Europa League, with Fenerbahce winning either match.
Dynamo and Fenerbahce will play in the qualifying rounds of the third-tier Europa Conference League next month and are very likely to be drawn at the organisational level if they qualify.
Dynamo play in Ukraine in UEFA competitions for security reasons and last year hosted matches in Poland.
___
AP Soccer: https://apnews. com/hub/soccer and https://twitter. com/AP_Sports
Privacy PolicyTerms of UseSubscribe to our newslettersSitemap
Follow
MORE