A Ukrainian League Match Lasts 5 Hours

A Ukrainian football league match lasted for nearly five hours in the city of Dnipro, in the center of the country, as a result of it being stopped several times due to warnings of Russian air raids. Dnipro-1 beat FC Oleksandriya 1-0 in Dnipro, the city targeted by Russian strikes. The players were asked to leave the field several times due to the threat of Russian air strikes. The Ukrainian Football Union said in a statement, "The match was stopped several times due to weather warnings, but it ended nonetheless." Ukrainian sports website “SportUA” reported that the match “lasted nearly five hours,” claiming that it was the longest football match in the history of the Ukrainian Premier League. "This is the first match that has lasted for such a long time," Dnipro defender Eduard Sarapije said. "I wanted to finish the match." Ukraine is holding its local season despite the war with Russia, but the matches are being held without fans for security reasons. Dnipro-1 currently ranks second in the league behind Kryvbas, which is based in Kryvyi Ryg, the hometown of President Volodymyr Zelensky. Shakhtar Donetsk has not been able to play at its home stadium, Donbass Arena, in Donetsk, which is now occupied by Russia, since 2014. Shakhtar, which has become a symbol of Ukrainian resistance, is playing its matches in the group stage of the Champions League in Hamburg, Germany. FC Mariupol, from the coastal city that Russia seized after a very harsh siege last year, no longer exists. Another club, Tavria Simferopol, moved to the Kherson region after Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula in 2014, but was dissolved after its new city, Nova Kakhovka, fell into the hands of Russian forces last year.

A Ukrainian football league match lasted for nearly five hours in the city of Dnipro, in the center of the country, as a result of it being stopped several times due to warnings of Russian air raids. Dnipro-1 beat FC Oleksandriya 1-0 in Dnipro, the city targeted by Russian strikes. The players were asked to leave the field several times due to the threat of Russian air strikes. The Ukrainian Football Union said in a statement, "The match was stopped several times due to weather warnings, but it ended nonetheless." Ukrainian sports website “SportUA” reported that the match “lasted nearly five hours,” claiming that it was the longest football match in the history of the Ukrainian Premier League. "This is the first match that has lasted for such a long time," Dnipro defender Eduard Sarapije said. "I wanted to finish the match." Ukraine is holding its local season despite the war with Russia, but the matches are being held without fans for security reasons. Dnipro-1 currently ranks second in the league behind Kryvbas, which is based in Kryvyi Ryg, the hometown of President Volodymyr Zelensky. Shakhtar Donetsk has not been able to play at its home stadium, Donbass Arena, in Donetsk, which is now occupied by Russia, since 2014. Shakhtar, which has become a symbol of Ukrainian resistance, is playing its matches in the group stage of the Champions League in Hamburg, Germany. FC Mariupol, from the coastal city that Russia seized after a very harsh siege last year, no longer exists. Another club, Tavria Simferopol, moved to the Kherson region after Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula in 2014, but was dissolved after its new city, Nova Kakhovka, fell into the hands of Russian forces last year.