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Ukraine Football League Declares Season over after Invasion

19 April 2022, Turkey, Istanbul: A general view of the pitch at The Ulker Fenerbahce Sukru Saracoglu Stadium before a friendly soccer match between Fenerbahce and Shakhtar Donetsk to draw attention to the war in Ukraine and to help the victims. (dpa)
19 April 2022, Turkey, Istanbul: A general view of the pitch at The Ulker Fenerbahce Sukru Saracoglu Stadium before a friendly soccer match between Fenerbahce and Shakhtar Donetsk to draw attention to the war in Ukraine and to help the victims. (dpa)
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Ukraine Football League Declares Season over after Invasion

19 April 2022, Turkey, Istanbul: A general view of the pitch at The Ulker Fenerbahce Sukru Saracoglu Stadium before a friendly soccer match between Fenerbahce and Shakhtar Donetsk to draw attention to the war in Ukraine and to help the victims. (dpa)
19 April 2022, Turkey, Istanbul: A general view of the pitch at The Ulker Fenerbahce Sukru Saracoglu Stadium before a friendly soccer match between Fenerbahce and Shakhtar Donetsk to draw attention to the war in Ukraine and to help the victims. (dpa)

The Ukrainian football season has officially been called off because of the Russian invasion, creating a path for Shakhtar Donetsk and Dynamo Kyiv to be entered in next season's Champions League.

The league said after a video conference with clubs Tuesday that the standings as of Feb. 24, when the Russian invasion began and games were suspended, will be declared final "because the championship cannot be played to completion."

Shakhtar was the leader at that time but the league said no official award of a title would be made.

The standings could decide qualification for European competitions next season if Ukrainian clubs are able to take part. The league's decision must be approved by the Ukrainian football association, which would have to submit competition entries to UEFA by early June. That includes two places in the next Champions League.

The Ukrainian league champion was due to enter the qualifying rounds in the playoffs in August, needing to beat one opponent to advance to the group stage.

However, one possible scenario is that Shakhtar can be upgraded to the group stage to take the direct entry protected for the champion of the Russian league, currently expected to be Zenit St. Petersburg.

UEFA has banned all Russian teams from its competitions because of the war and it is unclear how that sanction will be lifted before next season. Ukraine, as the national league ranked No. 12 by UEFA, would be next in line for getting the direct entry Russia could be forced to give up.

Of the 16 teams in the league, FC Mariupol's home stadium is now in territory under Russian control and the stadium of Desna Chernihiv was wrecked by bombardments that collapsed part of a stand and left a deep crater in the field.

Ukraine's two biggest teams, Shakhtar and Dynamo, are each touring Europe to play a series of charity games against clubs from around the continent to raise funds for people affected by the war.

Shakhtar previously had to leave its home city of Donetsk in 2014 when it was taken over by Russia-backed separatists and has since been based elsewhere in Ukraine, as has Zorya Luhansk, another first division club.

Dynamo was second to Shakhtar in the now-suspended league standings and could be entered for the Champions League in the second qualifying round. The draw for that round is scheduled for June 15 at UEFA headquarters in Switzerland with games to be played from July 19-27.

Third-place Dnipro could be entered in the Europa League, joining in the playoff round in August. The fourth- and fifth-place teams, Zorya Luhansk and Vorskla Poltava, are in line to enter the qualifying rounds of the Europa Conference League.

It is far from clear how Ukrainian clubs will retain and sign players for next season, and where they would prepare for and play domestic and international games.

The Ukrainian men's national team is still in contention to qualify for this year's World Cup. Ukraine is set to play Scotland in a postponed qualifying playoff game on June 1 in Glasgow with the winner to face Wales four days later in Cardiff for a place at the tournament in Qatar.

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Rafael Nadal Retired after the Davis Cup. It's a Rare Team Event in Tennis

Spain's Carlos Alcaraz, left, shakes hands with Rafael Nadal during a training session at the Martin Carpena Sports Hall, in Malaga, southern Spain, on Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Spain's Carlos Alcaraz, left, shakes hands with Rafael Nadal during a training session at the Martin Carpena Sports Hall, in Malaga, southern Spain, on Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
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Rafael Nadal Retired after the Davis Cup. It's a Rare Team Event in Tennis

Spain's Carlos Alcaraz, left, shakes hands with Rafael Nadal during a training session at the Martin Carpena Sports Hall, in Malaga, southern Spain, on Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Spain's Carlos Alcaraz, left, shakes hands with Rafael Nadal during a training session at the Martin Carpena Sports Hall, in Malaga, southern Spain, on Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Rafael Nadal wanted to play his last match before retiring in Spain, representing Spain and wearing the red uniform used by Spain's Davis Cup squad.

“The feeling to play for your country, the feeling to play for your teammates ... when you win, everybody wins; when you lose, everybody loses, no?” Nadal, a 22-time Grand Slam champion, said a day before his career ended when his nation was eliminated by the Netherlands at the annual competition. ”To share the good and bad moments is something different than (we have on a) daily basis (in) ... a very individual sport."

The men's Davis Cup, which concludes Sunday in this seaside city in southern Spain, and the women's Billie Jean King Cup, which wrapped up Wednesday with Italy as its champion, give tennis players a rare taste of what professional athletes in soccer, football, basketball, baseball, hockey and more are so used to, The AP reported.

Sharing a common goal, seeking and offering support, celebrating — or commiserating — as a group.

“We don’t get to represent our country a lot, and when we do, we want to make them proud at that moment,” said Alexei Popyrin, a member of the Australian roster that will go up against No. 1-ranked Jannik Sinner and defending champion Italy in the semifinals Saturday after getting past the United States on Thursday. “For us, it’s a really big deal. Growing up, it was something that was instilled in us. We would watch Davis Cup all the time on the TV at home, and we would just dream of playing for it. For us, it’s one of the priorities.”

Some players say they feel an on-court boost in team competitions, more of which have been popping up in recent years, including the Laver Cup, the United Cup and the ATP Cup.

“You're not just playing for yourself,” said 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu, part of Britain's BJK Cup team in Malaga. “You’re playing for everyone.”

There are benefits to being part of a team, of course, such as the off-court camaraderie: Two-time major finalist Jasmine Paolini said Italy's players engaged in serious games of UNO after dinner throughout the Billie Jean King Cup.

There also can be an obvious shared joy, as seen in the big smiles and warm hug shared by Sinner and Matteo Berrettini when they finished off a doubles victory together to complete a comeback win against Argentina on Thursday.

“Maybe because we’re tired of playing by ourselves — just for ourselves — and when we have these chances, it’s always nice,” Berrettini said.

On a purely practical level, this format gives someone a chance to remain in an event after losing a match, something that is rare in the usual sort of win-and-advance, lose-and-go-home tournament.

So even though Wimbledon semifinalist Lorenzo Musetti came up short against Francisco Cerúndolo in Italy's opener against Argentina, he could cheer as Sinner went 2-0 to overturn the deficit by winning the day's second singles match and pairing with Berrettini to keep their country in the draw.

“The last part of the year is always very tough,” Sinner said. “It's nice to have teammates to push you through.”

The flip side?

There can be an extra sense of pressure to not let down the players wearing your uniform — or the country whose anthem is played at the start of each session, unlike in tournaments year-round.

Also, it can be difficult to be sitting courtside and pulling for your nation without being able to alter the outcome.

“It’s definitely nerve-racking. ... I fully just bit all my fingernails off during the match," US Open runner-up Taylor Fritz said about what it was like to watch teammate Ben Shelton lose in a 16-14 third-set tiebreaker against Australia before getting on court himself. "I get way more nervous watching team events, and my friends play, than (when it’s) me, myself, playing.”