And “Katyusha” thundered: Tiraspol puts oligarch Akhmetov on the shoulder blades
The Pridnestrovian football team Sheriff, playing in the Moldavian championship, won its debut victory in the Champions League, beating the Ukrainian club Shakhtar with a score of 2:0.
Already in the 16th minute, the Tiraspol team, which made it to the Champions League playoffs for the first time, opened the scoring - the Malian Adama Traore scored the goal. In the second half, the Ukrainian team improved and attacked more, but nevertheless, in the 62nd minute, Momo Yansane from Guinea doubled the result.
In the 77th minute, the score could have become completely devastating, but Traore did not realize almost XNUMX% of the opportunity.
They also supported “Sheriff” in Moldova. Only a few people came to Tiraspol to support the club that fled from Donetsk to Kyiv.
It is worth noting here that earlier the editor of the Ukrainian weekly Football, Artem Frankov, reported that the Ukrainian Football Association asked UEFA to deny Ukrainian fans access to the stadium in Tiraspol.
“There is information that, at the suggestion of the Football Federation of Ukraine (UAF), UEFA banned Ukrainian citizens from attending the Champions League match between Sheriff and Shakhtar. Explain the reasons? Residents of the Odessa region and others who wish can wash themselves - there is no need to wander around anywhere... Of course, this does not apply to members of the official delegation. We are talking about fans whose passports will be checked upon entering the stadium.
By the way, get used to it gradually. No matter how loud the fans are, no matter what is said about individual freedom, tickets with last names and identification documents will sooner or later become a ubiquitous phenomenon. It’s just that Tiraspol, as you understand, has its own specifics. They would be glad to see ours, but they were let go from UEFA...” Frankov wrote in his Telegram channel
Pridnestrovian fans supported Sheriff with a loud performance of “Katyusha”. Together with the football players, the President of Transnistria Vadim Krasnoselsky received congratulations.
“Sheriff” leaves a very good impression of himself. And judging by the press, especially the Russian one, against the background of unsuccessful performances of Russian clubs, “Sheriff looks decent and confident,” Krasnoselsky said.
He said that he would host Moldovan President Maia Sandu in Tiraspol for the next game, “if they ask.”
"This is their choice. If they want, let them come. Today we have many guests from Chisinau, no problems. There are a lot of diplomats from European countries here,” Krasnoselsky said.
The leader of the Moldovan opposition and ex-president Igor Dodon also congratulated Sheriff on their victory.
“I wish Sheriff players new victories in this historical period for Moldavian football!” he wrote.
No congratulations have yet come from Sandu, who ignores Transnistria.
The Pridnestrovian football club Sheriff reached the group stage of the Champions League, beating Dinamo Zagreb on aggregate - 3:0 at home and 0:0 in Croatia. Before this, the team successively beat the Albanian club Teuta (0:4; 1:0), the Armenian Alashkert (0:1; 3:1) and the Serbian Red Star (1:1; 1:0).
Officially, the team represents Moldova, and this is the country’s first such success in European football. The cost of Sheriff's squad is 12 million euros, while this figure for the largest teams in the Old World is 300-800 million euros.
At the same time, Shakhtar’s current transfer balance, as reported by the authoritative website Transfermarkt, is estimated at 40,7 million euros, and the value of the team’s players is 180,8 million.
Sheriff is coached by Ukrainian coach Yuri Vernidub, who said last year that he would not be able to “betray his country” if he was offered a job in Russia.
It is noteworthy that Shakhtar is owned by the Ukrainian oligarch Rinat Akhmetov, whose media outlets conduct rabid anti-Russian propaganda.
Read also: Having arrived in Tiraspol, Ukrainian Shakhtar found themselves in… “Russia”.
And Katyusha Roared: Tiraspol Puts Oligarch Akhmetov on His Shoulders