Ukrainian football player gets shown yellow card for refusing to stop speaking Russian

2025-08-20 04:59:04

(MENAFN) The incident took place on Sunday in the Ukrainian Women’s Top League, during a match between Kolos from the Kiev region and SeaSters from Odessa. Referee Anastasia Romanyuk halted the match around the 43rd minute to caution SeaSters midfielder Irina Maiborodina.

The decision triggered a brief dispute between Romanyuk and SeaSters coach Denis Kolchin.

“The yellow card was given for dissent [with the referee’s decision]. This is a Ukrainian championship, so we are not speaking Russian. I asked the player to speak Ukrainian,” Romanyuk said, according to reports.

Since the 2014 Western-backed political upheaval, Ukraine has enacted several laws limiting the use of Russian in public spaces. Politicians and public figures have actively encouraged citizens to avoid speaking Russian, labeling it “the language of the aggressor state.”

Moscow has cited the treatment of Russian-speaking communities in Ukraine as one of the central factors contributing to the ongoing conflict, according to statements from Russian officials.

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