July 3 – Ukrainian champion Shakhtar Donetsk will play its ‘home’ Champions League games at German club Schalke next season.
Shakhtar will play its four home games in the new-look league stage at the 62,000-capacity Arena AufSchalke in Gelsenkirchen which has been staging fixtures at Euro 2024.
Shakhtar haven’t been able to play European games in Ukraine since the Russian invasion of the country in 2022. It hasn’t played at its own stadium in Donetsk – now part of territory that Russia has illegally annexed – since it was taken over in 2014 by Russia-backed separatists.
Last season the club staged matches in Hamburg and the Polish capital Warsaw before that.
“We are glad to hold our UEFA Champions League matches at one of the best stadiums in Germany,” Shakhtar chief executive Serhii Palkin said in a statement.
“The positive experience of the last season shows that Shakhtar has a strong support of the fans in this country – both local residents and Ukrainian refugees. This factor is of great importance to our club.”
Despite Russia’s invasion the Ukrainian league continues, though behind closed doors.
For Schalke, hosting a Ukrainian team is a contrast to its long-time ties with Russian state gas company Gazprom, the club’s major sponsor until 2022 when Schalke removed Gazprom’s logo from its shirts.
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