Since the onset of March, Odessa and the Odessa region have come under the increased attention of the aggressor country that has been destroying Ukraine for ten years. Missile and drone strikes on the regional centre in the south of the country, which have been regularly carried out by the Rashtists for the past five days, have cast doubt on the safety of sporting events there.
This, first of all, concerns the match of the 19th round of the Ukrainian championship "Chernomorets" - "Vorskla" (Poltava), which will be held on Saturday, 9 March.
At first, in accordance with the orders of the Ministry of Youth and Sports and its recommendations on the creation of working groups that determine the possibility of attracting fans to each arena, before the start of the spring part of the championship, the quantitative quotas of spectator attendance of matches of UPL clubs were finally named. Odessa Chornomorets received a quota of 2,000 spectators, which together with Dynamo Kyiv became the largest in comparison with other UPL clubs.
As early as last week the question arose among Odessa fans: when will tickets for the match between the Sailors and Vorskla go on sale? However, not everything is as simple as we would like it to be.
"Given today's circumstances, it is difficult to say something concrete about whether there will be two thousand spectators at the match or it will be held without fans at all. All this is due to the previous nights and yesterday afternoon's attack on Odessa. In the near future we will specifically decide whether there will be spectators or not. And if there will be, in what quantity. There was a desire to see fans on the stands and an understanding of how to do it better.
However, the events that took place at noon on 6 March changed everything. One thing is night attacks, and quite another - in the daytime. After all, it is in the daytime that the next game should take place. Now we will consult the relevant authorities on issues related to the organisation of the match. We don't want to endanger anyone. Permission to visit stadiums by spectators (and not only in Odessa, but also in all regional centres) is given by the regional military administration.
If we understand that the situation has changed, perhaps the next home match will not require additional decisions. We will see," FC Chornomorets general director Anatoliy Misyura told Sport.ua.