The Wembley side stands dyed blue and yellow, the colors of the Ukrainian flag, today Sunday for the Euro 2024 qualifying match between England and Ukraine.
More than 1,000 tickets have been distributed to Ukrainian refugees and families fleeing Britain after they fled the country due to Russian military incursions that began just over a year ago.
According to official figures, more than 118,000 Ukrainian refugees have been taken in by British families since the beginning of the conflict.
Groups of Ukrainian fans mixed with thousands of English fans at the entrances to Wembley and then stood in one of the corners of the legendary London stadium.
One of them was Oksana Romanukha, 39, who had been living in the UK for nine months after leaving the western Ukrainian city of Lviv. “It’s much more than an emotion. It’s a unique experience for us today. We wish England good luck, but we want to win Ukraine,” said the mother of five-year-old twins, who worked for a humanitarian organization. in Ukraine from the beginning. British headquarters.
– ‘Signs of Russia’ –
Her husband Andrew Romanukha (40) added: “It is the biggest match we can dream of. It is a sign to Russia and our enemies that we are still standing with the support of the UK.”
Daniel Severin (34 years old) traveled from Israel to attend the meeting in London, which is worth determining for Euro 2024. “Even at this moment we are trying to stick to our country and support the Ukrainian team.”
Another exile, Rehina Haripova, who left Lviv for the United Kingdom eight months ago, insisted that being at Wembley was “a dream”, despite a difficult match against the current continental runner-up at stake.
“There are a lot of emotions because there are a lot of Ukrainian fans in the amphitheater,” he added.
Domestic fans observed a moment of silence in honor of Ukraine’s national anthem before the match, at which point the visiting players each carried their country’s flag.
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Later, both teams were photographed next to a large Ukrainian flag with the inscription ‘Pax’ (‘Peace’).
The second qualifying match is for England, which opened on Thursday with a 2-1 win at home to defending champions Italy, while the first Group C match is against Ukraine.
Oleksandr Zinchenko, the captain of Ukraine, the player of English Arsenal, said the other day that he will put personal relations in the face of teammates and rivals in the Premier League, although he proved the support from English footballers and the public in this last year. “to be frightened by sleep.”
“I had a lot of help from all of them, which I like very much. I also want to thank all those in the UK who helped and supported the Ukrainians, the country, our people and the refugees who live here. The defender who was transferred from Manchester City to Arsenal last summer.
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