CEO of YB opponent Shakhtar – Palkin’s club without a home: “Fifa has destroyed what we built” – Sport

A club without a home: Since Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, Shakhtar has no longer been able to play its home games at its home stadium in Donetsk. The journey went from Lviv to Kharkiv, Kiev via Warsaw to Hamburg. On Wednesday, Schachtar “receives” the Young Boys in Gelsenkirchen as part of the Champions League. SRF spoke to club boss Sergei Palkin: What does it mean to always have the war in the back of your mind? Is FIFA destroying Ukrainian Football? And what memories does he have of the bankruptcy against YB seven years ago?

SRF Sport: Shakhtar hasn’t played a real home game for around 10 years. What were the biggest challenges on this odyssey?

Sergei Palkin: They were very difficult years. In 2014 we had to move to Lviv, then to Kyiv. The second biggest challenge was when Russia invaded in 2022 – a nightmare. We no longer wondered how or where we should play football. But how we can survive. We asked ourselves: How do we save the people in the club? How do we get foreign players and staff members out of the country? A very difficult task, the biggest challenge in the history of our club, but also of our country.

After that we tried to help our people. We opened shelters around Lviv for refugees from the south of Ukraine. Many came without anything. We offered them food and medicine, mental support. Then it had to continue on the football field. We knew that if we didn’t continue the championship, Ukrainian football could die. Continuing was the right decision.

It was a very strong sign from YB.

How important was and is it that you continued to fight and play despite all odds?

For us, the most important thing is to send a signal to the whole world that Ukrainian football is alive. At the same time, we wanted to show all of Europe and the world what is happening in Ukraine. Before we resumed our championship, we played many friendly matches across Europe. It’s two different things whether you read what’s happening in the newspaper or hear about it personally from people in Ukraine. It was very important to receive support from the EU and the entire democratic world.

Our role was to show everyone how they can support our country. And we did that pretty well, we spread a strong message. Important: When we talk about support, we don’t just mean financial help or weapons. Even just words help us. After the war began, “We stand with Ukraine” was displayed on the scoreboards of English Premier League games. That was crucial for us: that people from democracies assured us of their support. In this respect we have achieved our goal.

They attacked FIFA in the fall. The reason was the new transfer rules after the start of the war. Did the world association only care about foreign players and officials?

FIFA has introduced “Appendix 7”. It’s not about what it specifies, but rather How this was introduced. We tried to reach FIFA and wanted to sit down at a table with them. But FIFA never reacted. Nobody asked us about our perspective. Of course we have to support foreign players and coaches. But that also applies to Ukrainians and Ukrainian clubs. At Shakhtar, we had already determined the next steps with all foreign players in advance and found individual solutions. Not just with the players, also with their families and agents.

Then came FIFA “Appendix 7”. This completely destroyed everything we had built. The player agents have realized: They can get rich quickly. Your players are free and can move anywhere. FIFA only supported the agents, not the players. FIFA always says: “We are a football family.” The Ukrainian clubs were not part of this family at that time. When “Appendix 7” was introduced, it contained a lot of errors.

What experiences did Shakhtar have with “Appendix 7”?

I can give two examples of this. When the war started, Real Madrid came to us and said: We know we could have Vinicius Tobias for free. But we want to do a rental deal with you, pay a rental fee and if it suits us, we will buy it from you. Tottenham, on the other hand, brought in Manor Solomon for free. A year later they sold him to Fulham, we didn’t see a penny. They are two sides of the same coin. Different clubs behave differently.

For me it is a big mistake when people say that politics and sport should function independently of each other.

The Young Boys recently banned Meschack Elia from moving to a Russian club – for political reasons. Do you value this form of solidarity?

I definitely appreciate that. We are all in the fight with Russia together, in all aspects of life. This is the only way we can win this war. It was a very strong sign from YB.

FC Sion, on the other hand, signed the Russian Anton Mirantschuk in the autumn. Club president Christian Constantin said that politics and sport should not be mixed…

For me it is not right or appropriate for clubs to sign Russian players. I do not like that. The sanctions against Russia should apply in all respects. For me it is a big mistake when people say that politics and sport should function independently of each other. It is part of relations with Russia. After the annexation of Crimea, the whole world wanted to maintain good relations with Russia. And what was Russia’s next step? The full invasion of Ukraine. If we now allow all Russian athletes to take part, it is a further step towards ensuring that we can all lose to Russia in the future. We must remain strong in all areas of life.

Let’s look at the duel with YB: Back in 2017, Schachtar faced the Bernese team in the third CL qualifying round and failed in the penalty shootout. What memories do you have left with you?

We had just hired Paulo Fonseca, who now coaches AC Milan, as coach. He tried to remodel the system from the familiar 4-3-2-1 into a 4-4-2. But we didn’t have the right players for it. That was a mistake, that’s why we lost. We then returned to the old system and became stronger again. That’s what sticks in my mind: this system change that caused problems for us.

What kind of game are you expecting on Wednesday?

We have to win, otherwise we won’t be able to move forward in Europe. Even a draw isn’t enough. From a sporting point of view, I expect a very interesting and tough game.

The interview was conducted by Pascal Roganti, assisted by Dominik Steinmann.