Staff Reporter.
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.
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.
The Ukraine national side has a strong presence of players from the country’s top division.
Such stars will now turn their attentions to the crucial delayed World Cup play-off against Scotland in June.
The clash with Scotland was rearranged for June 1 after the game was pushed back due to the conflict with Russia.
Ukraine, Scotland, Wales and have been drawn in England, Iran and the United States’ group at the World Cup in Qatar this winter.
The curtailment of Ukraine’s top-flight football league comes as Moscow says it can strike military sites in Britain and other Nato countries and may target diplomats in Kyiv with ‘retaliatory strikes’.