Ukraine league season terminated due to martial law

[April 27, 2022]  (Reuters) - The Ukrainian Premier League (UPL) season has been terminated and the title will not be awarded due to continuing martial law in the country, the league said.

Soccer Football - Ukrainian Premier League - Shakhtar Donetsk v Dynamo Kiev - Metalist Stadium, Kharkiv, Ukraine - November 10, 2019. Dynamo Kiev's Heorhiy Bushchan attempts to stop Shakhtar Donetsk's Taison, who kicks the ball in the direction of Dynamo Kiev's supporters while reacting to presumed racist insults. Picture taken November 10, 2019. REUTERS/Oleksandr Osipov

No matches have been played since Russia invaded Ukraine in February in what Moscow calls a "special military operation".

The last round of fixtures was played in December before the league went on a three-month winter break. Shakhtar Donetsk were top of the league table with 47 points from 18 games, two points ahead of Dynamo Kyiv.

"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 UPL said in a statement on Tuesday.

"The standings as of Feb. 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 top two teams earn qualification for the Champions League.

(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)

[© 2022 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.  Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.