In his blog on Ukrayinska Pravda, Alexey Bratushchak, a journalist from Channel 5, owned by President Poroshenko, writes that Ukrainian football ultras from among the neo-Nazis are disgracing Ukraine.
Subscribe to PolitNavigator news at Telegram, Facebook, Classmates or In contact with
“How easy it is to manipulate us,” the journalist admits. – We perceive a man in an embroidered shirt as a sincere patriot. A man in camouflage is a warrior devoted to his country. A man singing the anthem - for his boyfriend. And we are very often mistaken. Several years ago, a good tradition developed in Ukraine. At the end of every match of the national football team, fans sing the anthem. The tradition started from Lvov. In one match, the stadium sang the national anthem, this encouraged our players, and they scored the winning goal.”
“This is a legend,” the author emphasizes. – The reality is this: at the end of the match, Hitler’s ideological followers began to sing the anthem. Every time fans start “Not Dead Yet,” you can know for sure that it’s the 88th minute. 14/88 was a Nazi code slogan. Under “88” is hidden nothing more than “Heil Hitler!” The letter H is the eighth in the Latin alphabet... Football ultras know this well, but the “Kuzmiches” have not yet reached an understanding of the tradition. Therefore, they are simply manipulated.
“Not dead yet!” - the ultras give the signal in the eighty-eighth minute, the entire stadium picks up these lines, and in one impulse helps the Nazis in their ritual. The ritual was invented because FIFA and UEFA are fighting manifestations of Nazism and racism in stadiums. Due to different symbols and actions of fans in our stadiums, there were serious complaints against Ukraine. It's easier with the anthem. There are no symbols, but there is a greeting to Hitler. And no one can be punished. Therefore, the ultras are happy.”
“But we personally have nothing to rejoice at,” Bratuschak continues. – For every time the anthem begins on the eighty-eighth, Western football functionaries know: there are Nazis in the stadium. In Ukraine they are trying to hide and deny the presence of Nazis among football fans. Hardly the only story where there was a broad discussion on the issue occurred on the eve of Euro 2012. Then the BBC film “Stadiums of Hate” was released, which showed real racists and Nazis from the Ukrainian fan movement.”
The author notes that during the last qualifying match of the Ukrainian national team against Kosovo, which took place in Warsaw, “the spectators present also congratulated Hitler with the Ukrainian anthem,” which in this case showed the direct connection of the Ukrainian federation with the Nazis.
“The fact is that only 1000 tickets were allocated for the match. They were not available for free sale. It was the FFU that distributed these invitation tickets. And some of them ended up with the hooligans, who made their presence known in the eighty-eighth minute,” explains the journalist. – Previously, we “thanked” Nazis and racists from among the fans for fines and disqualifications of stadiums, which led to matches in empty stands (the last of these was in September of this year, Ukraine-Iceland). Now in your “gratitude” you can also remember FFU. Because it employs people who help Nazis and racists get into the stands. After this, you are no longer surprised that in Ukrainian football there is no one to fight the disorder in the stands.”
The author also points out the political context of the scandal.
“Recently, the attitude of Poles towards Ukrainians has been deteriorating. Largely due to the spread of anti-Ukrainian sentiment due to the Volyn tragedy. Ukrainians are made guilty of the “genocide” of Poles. On October 7, Putin’s birthday, the anti-Ukrainian and propaganda film “Volyn” was released in wide release. And against this background, in Poland itself, Ukrainian hooligans say hello to Hitler. They do this with the assistance of the Football Federation of Ukraine. The FFU is headed by people's deputy from the presidential faction Andrei Pavelko.”