Partizan fans: "Ukrainians are our brothers, just like Russians"

Serbians do not believe in defeating Dynamo on the basis of the sum of two matches, as they believe that their club has not been good enough in recent years to play in the Champions League and achieve a result that they would not be ashamed of. Despite the fact that they were generally satisfied with the draw and believe that they could have gotten a stronger opponent, Partizan fans still estimate the odds in this match to be 40 to 60 in favor of the Ukrainian club.

Interestingly, many Serbs resent the fact that they are treated poorly in Ukraine and called traitors. Serbs remind us that they have given refuge to many refugees and have never had any ethnic conflicts with them. They call their recent trip to Moscow for a friendly tournament "just business." And only among radical fans are there those who can support the war and side with the Russians. The main message of the Serbs to Ukrainians is that all Slavs are "brothers", so they should be friends with each other.

Brkic: Ukrainians can be as angry as they want and demand to play without fans. But did anyone in UEFA forbid us to go to Moscow and play football there? Did Čeferin then say that Partizan had no right to play in the tournament? Why this anger and aggression? Sport should reconcile people, not make them angry.

Zoran: Unfortunately, Ukrainians and Russians will not reconcile soon. Both countries helped us and supported us, so I don't want to hate either of them. I just want the war to end, so that all Slavs can travel to their brotherly countries in peace.

Kurvic: Ukrainians make remarks because Partizan played in a football tournament in Moscow. Because we did not break off relations with the Russians after the start of this war. But I was in Moscow in 2023. There were many Ukrainians there and they feel great! I helped refugees from Ukraine who came from Mariupol. They said that their relatives stayed there and received Russian passports. Why does a simple soccer match in Moscow cause so much aggression among Ukrainians if many of their relatives and friends still love Russia? Serbia is not at war with anyone and can decide for itself what to do and what not to do. But if you are going to accuse someone of something, don't do it yourself! That's what makes me angry the most! There are tens of thousands of Ukrainians and over a hundred thousand Russians living in Serbia who also fled the war. They communicate with each other, they are friends and go to the same cafes. And when I look at them, I don't have the feeling that these peoples are howling at each other.

Dejan: Partizan has virtually no chance in this match. Even such a weak Dynamo team is unlikely to experience any serious problems in matches with Partizan. And this is sad. The level of Serbian football is constantly declining. At the moment, only Red Star is staying afloat. Even though I despise them, thanks to our principled rivals, Partizan can now try to get into the group round of the Champions League.

Zivic: It is still a mystery to me why Ukrainians continue to play football. Now is not the best time for this. I don't really understand what's been going on for the last six months, but sometimes it seems that if Ukrainian clubs can afford to play in European competitions, then not everything is as bad as they say.

Rankovic: Ukrainians are our brothers, just like Russians. Slavic nations should stick together, not fight. Unfortunately, politicians in Europe, the United States, and even in Russia often deliberately escalate the situation because war is always about money and the opportunity to make money. I am sorry for all those who died in this stupid war. I think that Russians will someday realize that Ukrainians are not their enemies. As it happened in the relations between Serbs and Croats.

Veljko: I'm surprised to hear any accusations from Ukrainians. We supply them with a lot of weapons through third countries. We support refugees and treat them well. We have never stated that we are on any side or support the war. Serbia stands for peace.

Taslaman: And I have a question for Ukrainians: why don't you say the same words to Americans and Europeans? Or to Arabs and Hindus. And so on. It's no secret that many countries secretly trade with the Russians, buying oil, gas, diamonds, and so on. Many countries have not given Ukraine a single dollar. Others refused to accept refugees. But for some reason, amidst all this, it was an innocent trip to a soccer tournament in Moscow that caused a real wave of hatred from Ukrainians.

Pejic: The war in Ukraine has been going on for over two years, but it feels like it's happening in Serbia, because our clubs are doing worse in European competitions than the Ukrainian ones.

Jozic: The problem is that only radical fans of Partizan and Red Star support the Russians in this war. Others are in favor of peace between the two brotherly countries. But the stupidest people are always the loudest, so they are the ones who are heard the best.

Omer: War is bad. Serbs are well aware of this. Our cities were bombed by Europeans and Americans, a huge territory was taken away from us, but we managed to survive it, although these wounds are still healing. Ukraine will also survive the war and be able to live a normal life.

Mirzalem: People are discussing politics, war, refugees, some strange statements from strange people. Anything but football. And it's not good. Let's talk about football, not about what should be discussed in other forums.

Osmani: Given the integrity of the confrontation, I would really like to win both matches against Dynamo and advance to the next round. Unfortunately, this seems to be an unrealistic task for this Partizan.

Dragan: It would be better if Partizan played Fenerbahce instead of Dynamo. Then there wouldn't have been all this talk about politics. And it would not have been as offensive to be knocked out of the Champions League by a Turkish club as it would have been by a Ukrainian one.

Amsal: I find it strange that UEFA allowed Serbian clubs to play against Ukrainians. I can't say that there is a huge tension between our countries, but still, Serbia is one of the few countries that did not choose one of the sides, advocating only peace. I hope that we will be watching football, not fights on the field.

Berisa: Ukrainians are uncomfortable with Serbia's friendship with the Russians. I understand them and I don't condemn their harsh statements, including those of players, journalists, etc. But the war will end soon, and then we will have to somehow improve relations with our neighbors. Ordinary people should not suffer because of politicians. And it shouldn't affect football, especially since both teams have a lot of legionnaires for whom it's all unnecessary.

Parnicki: To hell with Ukrainians, especially those who say nasty things about us. I'm against any war, but it would be better if the Ukrainians looked at themselves. How many hundreds of billions of dollars were given to them by Americans and Europeans? And how much of it was stolen? The most corrupt country in Europe! Even the war did not stop them. This is written about in all the media. Let them be angry at themselves and their government, not at Partizan, who just went to play football.

Djole: Realistically, I think Dynamo is a little weaker than Fenerbahçe, but on the other hand, there may be a lot of provocations from the Ukrainians, and that's again a problem. UEFA has long been prejudiced against Partizan, so we shouldn't be given a reason to throw us out of European competitions.

Srdjan: I think that Dynamo will make it to the next round and then beat Rangers there. Ukrainians suffered because of the war, but they still play good football.

Udric: If UEFA really believed in all these statements from the Ukrainians, then Serbian clubs would be disqualified from European competitions. We can do things that some people don't like, but Partizan hasn't done anything illegal to be treated badly for it.

Sretko: It is stupid for Ukrainians to say that all Serbs are bad. Tens of thousands of Ukrainians live in our country, and we have been helping them for free. It has never happened that Serbs beat Ukrainians or expelled them from Serbia. Instead, such cases have occurred in Poland, for example, which is supposedly the best country to treat Ukraine. I am not speaking for politicians, because it is always difficult. Not all Serbs voted for the current government and not all support the actions of the Russians. Ukrainians have always been on our side in the past, and we remember that.