Provocations by Polish fans at the Shakhtar - Legia match: Ukraine's ambassador reacted
Kyiv • UNN
Ukraine's Ambassador to Poland, Vasyl Bodnar, commented on the provocative banners displayed by Polish fans at the Shakhtar and Legia match, calling them unrelated to sports. He expressed gratitude to Poland for supporting Ukrainian athletes, despite the incident.
Ukraine's Ambassador to Poland Vasyl Bodnar stated that the provocations by Polish fans during the second round match of the Conference League between Donetsk "Shakhtar" and Warsaw "Legia" have no relation to the sporting event or team support, and therefore it is difficult to understand the motives behind such a provocation. Bodnar wrote about this on Facebook, as reported by UNN.
On October 23, 2025, in Krakow, during the match "Shakhtar Donetsk" – "Legia Warsaw" within the group stage of the Conference League, provocative banners were displayed in the stands of the "Legia Warsaw" club fans, which have no relation to the sporting event or team support. While respecting the right of Polish fans to express their opinion, it is difficult to understand the motives of such a provocation. Is it done to overshadow Poland's sincere help to Ukrainians who have found refuge from the war, or is it an attempt to drown out words of gratitude from Ukrainian athletes with negativity, or is it a desire to distract attention from the real threat from Russia, including for Poland?
He emphasized that "despite everything, I will not stop thanking Poland for supporting Ukrainian athletes and Ukrainian sports since the beginning of the full-scale Russian aggression."
According to the Polish publication Weszlo, the football club "Wisła", whose stadium hosted the nominally home match for "Shakhtar", helped "Legia" fans carry a flag with the inscription "We remember Volyn".
Before the match, the Ukrainian club opposed the display of the banner in the guest sector. Polish fans announced that they would protest the match and not come to the stadium, but "Wisła", whose arena "Shakhtar" plays in, intervened.
Officials of the Krakow club "Wisła", including those responsible for stadium security, quickly contacted representatives of Donetsk "Shakhtar" and, through verbal arguments, convinced them that the flag "We remember Volyn" should be displayed at the stadium. What were the arguments? Simple ones – that this is historical truth that cannot be hidden and harms no one; it is simply a statement of fact.
It is noted that "Shakhtar" understood this and agreed to allow the flag in the guest section of the stadium. "Legia" Warsaw fans soon began to fill the stands.
Addition
During the second-round match of the Conference League between Donetsk "Shakhtar" and Warsaw "Legia", in which the "miners" lost in the last seconds, "Legia" ultras tried to bring a banner about the Volyn tragedy with the inscription "We remember Volyn" into the stadium stands.
During the match, "Legia" fans chanted: "F*** UPA and Bandera", as well as "Shakhtar from Donetsk - old Soviet whore".
Shakhtar's goalkeeper Kyrylo Fesyun called the Polish fans "scum" after the match.
I only saw them in the stands around the fortieth minute. I heard something, a few phrases, well, that. Scum, to be honest. Not very nice.