Ukrainian league game lasts record time due to air alerts
KYIV: A Ukrainian league match in the central city of Dnipro was interrupted by air alerts several times due to Russia's invasion, reportedly lasting a record almost five hours. Dnipro-1 defeated FC Oleksandriya 1-0 in Dnipro, a city that has been targeted by Russian strikes throughout Moscow's more than 20-month long offensive. Players were called off the pitch several times because of the danger of Russian air attacks. "The match was interrupted several times due to air alerts, but it was finished anyway," Ukraine's football association said in a statement. The Ukrainian sports website Sport.ua said the game "lasted almost five hours", alleging that it was the longest football game in the history of Ukraine's topflight. "This is the first game that was so long for us," Dnipro-1 defender Eduard Sarapiy said. "I wanted to finish the match." Ukraine is holding its domestic season despite the war with Russia. But games are played without fans for security reasons. Dnipro-1 are currently second in the Ukrainian league behind Kryvbas -- a football team from President Volodymyr Zelensky's home city of Kryviy Rig. Ukrainian football was already badly affected by the conflict with Moscow-backed rebels in 2014 and, like the rest of the country, was hard hit by Russia's 2022 invasion. Shakhtar Donetsk have been unable to play at their Donbass Arena home in Donetsk, now occupied by Russia, since 2014. Shakhtar, who have become a symbol of Ukrainian resistance, play their Champions League group games in Hamburg. FC Mariupol, from the port city seized by Russia after a brutal siege last year, has ceased to exist. Another club, Tavriya Simferopol, moved to the Kherson region after Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 but disbanded after
