A fake Luhansk 'Zorya' will participate in the Russian football championship for the 2025/2026 season.
Last summer, in 2024, several propaganda Russian media outlets reported that a football club named 'Zorya' appeared in temporarily occupied Luhansk, which has nothing to do with the original participant of the Ukrainian Premier League. The fake team has already been registered for the Russian 'Commonwealth Football Unified Championship,' and the team will also compete in the Russian FNL for the 2025/2026 season.
The counterfeit club from temporarily occupied Luhansk has former employees of the original UPL club in its management and coaching staff. The management includes the former general director of the original Luhansk club, Stanislav Oganov, who sided with the 'LPR' terrorists. He was part of the Luhansk team from 2020 to 2022, after which he left Yevhen Heller’s team, citing differences in views.
The head coach of the 'LNR' team was appointed as Maksym Tyshchenko, a graduate of Zaporizhzhia’s 'Metallurg,' who worked in the Dynamo Kyiv system from 1992 to 1993, and since 1995 has only played and worked in Russian clubs. The club president is Araik Asatryan, a former player of the real 'Zorya' academy. The Guardian reports that he claims to intend to 'preserve the historical traditions of the pre-war 'Zorya.''
It should be noted that the 'Zorya' clone was founded in December 2023 with the support of the 'LPR' terrorists. It has already managed to play 82 matches for teams from occupied territories and the FNL. Among their opponents was the fake 'Shakhtar' from Donetsk.
