UEFA reporter for Ukraine Bohdan Buha, who served as a grenade launcher in the Rubizh rapid response brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine after the start of the full-scale invasion, spoke in an interview with Tribuna.com about the attitude of UEFA to the war.
- Did your UEFA colleagues know about my story? Of course, I didn't go around telling them I was a veteran. But many of those who work on the UEFA website know, because from the very beginning they were very sincere in their support for me and my family.
On February 24, 2022, I received about two dozen messages from all over Europe: "Come here". UEFA immediately found an opportunity to invite me to work in one of their offices, offering me free housing and a position. The offers are still valid, and many people still don't understand why I refuse.
Even at the Euros themselves, people found out, as they say, by word of mouth, or noticed my tattoos. One day, one of the most authoritative UEFA media officers grabbed my arm: "Do you have an RPG? Why?" I explain that I was a grenade launcher in the war.
Word for word, everyone oohs and aahs, expressing support for Ukraine. A girl from UEFA listens to this and suddenly starts crying. It was just a shock for her. It was as if something from the TV news had moved into the sideline room where we were waiting for the Ukrainian national team to be interviewed.
To be honest, when I received an invitation from UEFA to work with the Ukrainian national team at the Euros, I didn't agree right away. First of all, I promised myself a long time ago that I would not leave Ukraine until the war is over. I have been here since the first day of the full-scale invasion. My wife and daughter have never left Kyiv either. And I felt very uncomfortable going to Germany by myself.
Secondly, I was worried about how UEFA would react to the topic of war in our interviews. But everything went well, and I was not ashamed of my work for the Euros, at least to myself. No matter what reputation UEFA has among Ukrainian fans, on a purely human level, everyone there is very sympathetic and supportive of us.
I was told that when the full-scale invasion began, the UEFA social media editorial office received an order not to use any emojis of rockets, bombs, dynamite, and so on. Because it could be traumatic for Ukrainian fans. They are still trying to be sensitive to the topic of war.
Or if we take the situation with Russia's suspension. When was the last time a national team was thrown out of official tournaments? Yugoslavia in 1992. And the clubs? The English after Eisel in the 80s. As for both clubs and national teams, this has never happened before.
I am not trying to defend the "honor of the uniform" here, because I am generally a person who believes that any sanctions against Russia that do not include a nuclear strike are insufficient. But one cannot but recognize that for UEFA, these are unprecedented things. And we in Ukraine sometimes need to look at all these topics from a slightly different perspective," Buga said.