Football news

UAF Secretary General Ihor Hryshchenko said that the Minaya stadium may not be certified for the next UPL season due to the lack of lighting.

"As far as I remember, an exception was made for the Minaya stadium, and this led to a negative story. When our team came to management, we had to resolve this story. It was not an easy decision to finish the championship in the format in which we started. Therefore, we allowed the use of this stadium until the end of the season. But for the next season, there are general rules for certification. I assume that this stadium will not be able to get the right to host UPL matches, given the lack of lighting. Either they will put it in order," Hryshchenko said.

Shakhtar Donetsk is interested in the transfer of two Dnipro-1 players - Valentyn Rubchynskyi and Eduard Sarapiy. This was reported by commentator Ihor Tsyhanik.

"Rubchynskyi is on the radar of Shakhtar's selectors. They are also interested in Dnipro-1 centre-back Sarapiy. They are looking at these two players," Tsyganik said on the Tsyganik Live programme.

A new poster for the 2024 FIFA World Cup, which is due to take place in Uzbekistan from 14 October to 6 October, has been posted on the official FIFA website.

Following the scandal involving the image of Russian futsal player Sergei Abramov on the poster for the World Cup, the FIFA press service has modified the image by removing the player.

As a reminder, Russian futsal clubs and national teams have been suspended from international competitions since the start of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine. The Russians are also banned from the upcoming tournament.

Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois commented on his return to the field at the end of this season after two serious injuries.

"You need to be positive. In August, I cried because the worst thing that can happen to you in football is crosses. But then I said I would work hard and come back only stronger. That was my goal from the beginning - to fight and never give up. Many people thought that this season was over for me, but I knew it wasn't. You have to have confidence and faith in yourself to overcome difficulties. It's important to be a professional," Courtois said in an interview with Mundo Deportivo.

UAF Secretary General Ihor Hryshchenko spoke about salaries in the UAF.

"I wouldn't like to talk about specific figures, but I can assure you that these are, firstly, all official salaries, from which taxes are officially paid. At the same time, a very important and most important aspect is that these funds are not financed from the state budget of Ukraine. That is, these are not funds from Ukrainian taxpayers, these are funds from which the UAF budget is formed. These are UEFA, FIFA funds and revenues from our sponsors and partners.

These are high salaries, I'm not going to lie. But these are absolutely market salaries for the level of top management of national associations and for the football market as a whole. Given the level of responsibility we bear and the commitments we have made to overcome corruption and financial embezzlement within the UAF, I believe this level of salaries is justified," said Hryshchenko.

Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos has announced that he will retire from football after Euro 2024.

"17 July 2014 was the day of my presentation at Real Madrid, a day that changed my life. My life as a footballer - but especially as a person. It was the beginning of a new chapter at the biggest club in the world.

Ten years later, at the end of the season, this chapter is coming to an end. I will never forget that incredible and successful time! I would like to especially thank everyone who welcomed me with open hearts and trusted me. But especially I would like to thank you, dear Madrid people, for your commitment and your love from the first to the last day.

At the same time, this decision means that my football career will end this summer after the European Championships. As I have always said: "Real Madrid is and will be my last club. I am happy and proud that in my mind I found the right time for my decision and that I could choose it myself.

My ambition has always been to finish my career at the peak of my skills. From now on, there is only one guiding thought: The 15th Champions League trophy. Go Madrid," Kroos wrote on his Instagram page.

Bournemouth's Ukrainian defender Ilya Zabarny has been nominated for the English Championship team of the season by the fans.

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Tomorrow, 22 May, the final of the Europa League 2023/24 season will take place in Dublin, with Italian side Atalanta and Bayer Leverkusen. The result of this match may affect the number of participants of the 2nd qualifying round of the Champions League season-2024/25 on the way of non-champions and, accordingly, the composition of the baskets at the draw of this stage, from which Dynamo Kyiv will start their next European Cup campaign.

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"Vorskla will retain the current squad for the next season.

The team captain Volodymyr Chesnakov will retire from football but will remain with the club. The 36-year-old centre-back is a Vorskla product and has played his entire career with the Poltava team, scoring 17 goals and 10 assists in 416 matches.

Forward Ruslan Stepaniuk will play for Vorskla for another year. He has been playing for the team since January 2020 and has scored 10 goals and provided 4 assists in 31 matches this season.

"Vorskla is in 8th position in the UPL and has already lost its chances of finishing higher than the top spot before the end of the season.

The FIFA press service has published a poster for the 2024 FIFA World Cup, which will take place in Uzbekistan from 14 September to 6 October, on the organisation's official website.

The poster features Russian national team player Sergei Abramov. His picture is also on the FIFA website. The photo itself was taken during the 2021 FIFA World Cup, when the Russian team was not allowed to play under its flag due to a doping scandal.

As a reminder, all Russian futsal clubs and national teams have been suspended from international competitions due to Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine. The Russians were also banned from the upcoming World Cup.

Brazilian midfielder Vitinho may return to Dynamo Kyiv. This is reported by the telegram channel "Fight or Flight".

"As we have learnt, the management of Kyiv is negotiating with Vitinho about his return to the team," the message says.

As a reminder, Dynamo's agreement with the Brazilian is valid until June 2026. Since the start of the full-scale invasion, Vitinho has been on loan: the last club was RB Bragantino, with a lease that runs until June this year.

Chornomorets head coach Roman Hryhorchuk may resign from his position as the Odesa team's coach in the summer. This is reported by TaToTake.

It is reported that Hryhorchuk can take over LNZ, whose management has not yet made a final decision on whether to continue cooperation with the current coach Oleg Dulub. His agreement with the Cherkasy club expires at the end of the season. If LNZ fails to reach an agreement with the Belarusian specialist on further cooperation, a choice will be made in favour of Grigorchuk.

It will be recalled that under Dulub's leadership, LNZ finished 7th in the standings in its debut season in the Ukrainian Premier League.