Roman Yaremchuk was the great hero of the Benfica crowd on Wednesday evening with his equalizer against Ajax. The attacker from Ukraine, who showed his value as a substitute for the Portuguese top club, showed an undershirt with the symbol of his country after the 2-2 in the 72nd minute. Yaremchuk explained afterwards why he made such a gesture after his goal in the Champions League match with Ajax.
Yaremchuk displayed a golden trident, also called Tryzub, the national symbol of Ukraine. The substitute received a yellow card and there is a good chance that UEFA will impose a sanction on Benfica. The accurate striker takes all that for granted. “I just wanted to support my country,” Yaremchuk told the Portuguese media after the European evening. “I’ve thought a lot about this and I’m also very afraid of this situation. I want to support my country a little bit with this. Benfica supports me, talked to me about it and wanted to do everything to help me, so for now everything is fine. ” The attacker referred to the fact that Russia has now started bombing Ukraine, which has already killed at least seven people.
Benfica comes at 2-2!
Remko Pasveer stops the first shot, but puts the ball ready for substitute Roman Yaremchuk: it’s level again. #UCL #BENAJA pic.twitter.com/hZLKrf0DMZ
— VTBL ? (@vtbl) February 23, 2022
Yaremchuk scored from a rebound, after Ajax goalkeeper Remko Pasveer was unable to parry a hard long shot from Benfica. “Whether I play five or ten minutes, I will always fight for Benfica. I am here to score goals and that is what I have to do,” said the goalscorer, who was thus used as a substitute by coach Nélson Verissimo. Yaremchuk receives support on social media for his gesture after the equalizer against Ajax. Among others, VVCS chairman Evgeniy Levchenko, born and raised in Ukraine, is full of praise. “aremchuk respect! Slava Ukraine,” the former player wrote on Twitter.
Ukraine wanted to play at the European Championship last year with a special shirt, showing the national borders including the area of Crimea, which was annexed by Russia. After an official protest from Russia, Ukraine had to adjust the European Championship shirt from UEFA. The European Football Association said the shirt had a slogan “clearly of a political nature”, which is illegal under the rules. Last year it was about the slogan ‘glory to our heroes’ on the inside of the shirt in the collar. This would refer to the anti-Russian uprising in Ukraine in 2014.
Yaremchuk respect! Slava Ukraine????
— Levchenko Evgeniy (@elevchenko) February 23, 2022
According to the authorities in Kiev, seven people have already been killed in the Russian bombing, while nine are also said to have been injured. CNN reports that hundreds of victims have already been killed. According to Ukraine, the military attacks come not only from Russia itself, but also from Crimea and neighboring Belarus. The government there has also indicated that pro-Russian troops are advancing into the area controlled by Ukrainian government forces.