Ukraine have been ordered by UEFA to remove a slogan from their Euro 2020 shirt.
The Joma product sparked outrage in Russia this week due to a map displayed on the front of the shirt and slogans also included on the controversial new jersey.
Moscow MPs protested against the shirt, with one deeming it “totally inappropriate” and “a political provocation”.
The recent outrage from the Kremlin was due to the map of Ukraine’s borders showing the Crimea peninsula, a region that Russia annexed in 2014, along with slogans that are official Ukrainian military greetings and hold “historic and militaristic significance”, according to UEFA.
European football’s governing body have stated that a UN general assembly resolution “recognises the territorial borders as broadly depicted by the design”, so the map won’t have to be removed.
However, what UEFA have ordered to be changed is the phrase stitched inside of the collar: ‘Glory to the heroes!’
The slogan – which was used by protesters who ousted a Moscow-backed president, Viktor Yanukovych, in 2014 – is said to be “clearly political in nature”.
After initially approving the kit, the continental governing body have also labelled the phrase as having “historic and militaristic significance”.
The shirt has been popular in Ukraine and is said to have sold out within five days of its release, and the country’s FA are now in talks to keep the slogan in place.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky shared on Instagram : “The Ukrainian national football team’s new jersey is in fact not like the others.
“It knows how to shock. It bears many important symbols that unify the Ukrainian people.”
It was Russian MP Dmitry Svishchev who described the shirt as “totally inappropriate”, and foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova claimed Joma’s product gives an “illusion of the impossible”.
Svishchev, a parliamentary deputy, was also quoted by news agency RIA as saying the shirt was “a political provocation” and any map of Ukraine containing Russian territory is “illegal”.
Zakharova cited on social media that the slogans – the other being ‘Glory to Ukraine!’ written on the back of the jersey – echoed a German Nazi rallying cry, but UEFA say that slogan “on its own may be considered as a generic and non-political phrase of general national significance”.
The annexation of Crimea ruptured relations between those in Moscow and Kyiv seven years ago and marked the start of a separatist rebellion in eastern Ukraine.
The outlined map also shows the areas of Donetsk and Lugansk, which have been partially seized by pro-Russian separatists.
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Co-hosts in 2012 with Poland, Andriy Shevchenko’s side kick off their European Championships campaign on Sunday.
The Yellow and Blues will face the Netherlands in Amsterdam and are expected to be confident of advancing to the knockout stages.
2004 Ballon d’Or-winner Shevchenko briefly entered politics in 2012, but his party won just 1.58 per cent of votes and gained no constituencies.
Having crafted a flexible and functional Ukraine outfit since their winless and goalless Euros run, the 44-year-old boss is also set to battle Austria and North Macedonia in Group C.
With the tournament taking place across 11 European cities, it’s possible that Ukraine could travel to the Russian city of St Petersburg in the latter stages.
It replaced Dublin as a host venue due to spectators being able to attend and has been handed one quarter-final along with games in Group B and E.
Shevchenko’s men would play in St Petersburg if they were to finish third in their group and follow the relevant pathway to the last eight.
UEFA usually ensure that ideologically-opposed nations, such as Serbia and Kosovo, avoid facing each other.
