Ukrainian Premier League terminated without a winner due to Russia's invasion of the country
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Updated 27/04/2022 at 16:21 GMT
Shakhtar Donetsk led the UPL before the season was cut short because of Russia's invasion of the country. The league say all clubs "supported the proposal" to finish the current campaign without any winners, but it will now be up to the Ukrainian Association of Football to decide which clubs will compete in European competitions next season, should they be able to.
Shakhtar Donetsk players before a fundraising match
Image credit: Getty Images
The Ukrainian Premier League season has been terminated and no title will be awarded due to the Russian invasion of the country.
The last round of fixtures were played in December before the league’s three-month winter break, but action never resumed because of the conflict beginning.
As the championship came to a halt, Shakhtar Donetsk topped the table with 47 points, with Dynamo Kyiv two points behind them in second place.
A statement from the UPL says, “The football clubs of the Ukrainian Premier League supported the proposal to terminate the 2021-22 season since the championship cannot be completed due to the extension of martial law status in Ukraine.”
“'The standings as of February 24, 2022 will be the final standings of the 2021-22 season, with no winners to be awarded. The corresponding decision was submitted for approval by the executive committee of the Ukrainian Association of Football.”
The decision to bring the season to an early end without any confirmed winners could now impact on placements for European competitions for next season.
It will be down to the Ukrainian Association of Football to submit competition entries to UEFA by early June - including two places in the next Champions League campaign.
The Ukrainian league champion enters the qualifying rounds at the play-off stage in August, needing to beat just one opponent to advance to the group stage, while a second club from Ukraine has slightly more work to do as it is entered in the second qualifying round, which takes place in July.
Dnipro were in third position when the league came to a close, and that placement would usually see a club join the Europa League play-off round.
Fourth and fifth placed clubs in the UPL make it into the qualifying rounds of the Europa Conference League, and it was Zorya Luhansk and Vorskla Poltava occupying those positions before the winter break, and ultimately the end of the season.
With conflict still ongoing in the country, the statement from the UPL did confirm a working group has been created to discuss the start of next season and how football in the country can move forward.
Shakhtar and Dynamo have both been touring Europe to play charity games against clubs from around the continent to raise funds for people affected by the war.
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