By Mark Baber
May 16 – In response to protests by fans, the Ukrainian football federation (FFU) overturned its original decision to stage yesterday evening’s Cup final between Dynamo Kyiv and Shakhtar Donetsk behind closed doors – the final being won by Kiev 2-1.
On Wednesday, Dynamo supporters held protests outside the parliament and FFU buildings, managing to persuade the FFU to relent. FFU spokesman Pavlo Ternoviy tweeted “Final game will be with supporters. The Football Federation (FFU) got the guarantees of security and now we have all conditions needed to stage a good soccer event.”
The FFU, following government advice, had decided to play the game between Ukraine’s two most powerful sides without supporters due to the unrest in the country and following the massacre in Odessa in which ultras (from Kharkiv and Odessa) were implicated.
Despite the resounding ‘Yes’ for independence in Sunday’s Donetsk status referendum, the Shaktar ultras have been solidly pro-Ukraine and fought against the Berkut riot police and alongside their arch-rivals from Kiev’s Dynamo ultras on the Maidan.
The decision of the FFU is a reflection of the power of the ultras in the new Ukraine and tonight’s final can be expected to be a show of unity by the nationalist fans of both sides.
The game was moved to the Oleksiy Butovsky Vorskla Stadium, a multi-purpose stadium in Poltava in central Ukraine which only holds 24,795 people but which is in a zone untouched by recent violence.
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