Croatia's Domagoj Vida facing further sactions after second 'Glory to Ukraine' video emerges
Croatia defender Domagoj Vida could face further action by Fifa following the emergence of a second video of him appearing to shout “Glory to Ukraine!”, as well as “Belgrade burn!”, after his country’s World Cup win over Russia.
The game’s governing body confirmed on Tuesday it was “looking into” the new footage two days after issuing the 29-year-old with a formal warning for breaching its rules on political statements by yelling the first slogan in a separate clip.
The former Dynamo Kiev player’s actions were widely perceived as anti-Russian, prompting the host nation’s fans to pledge their allegiance to England in the latter’s semi-final against Croatia on Wednesday night.
The first video also featured another member of the Croatian Football Federation (HNS) delegation, Vida’s former team-mate Ognjen Vukojevic, who was sent home in disgrace on Monday and fined 15,000 Swiss francs (£11,385) by Fifa for shouting: “This victory is for Dynamo and for Ukraine.”
Vida is a key player for Croatia and has become even more so with Sime Vrsaljko doubtful for Wednesday’s game with a knee problem. The defender is likely to switch to right-back if Vrsaljko is ruled out amid reports the latter’s club, Atletico Madrid, want to stop him playing against England to avoid aggravating his injury.
The HNS sought to limit the damage caused by the first video on Monday by apologising to the Russian public, adding in a statement: “Ognjen Vukojevic and Domagoj Vida likewise apologise for their statements, which were in no way intended to have political connotations, yet which unfortunately left room for such interpretations.”
The footage had sparked anti-Croatian chants in the centre of Moscow and Yura Reizer, a member of the Spartak Moscow fan club who also supports Liverpool, told the Daily Telegraph a “significant number” of Russian fans would now be cheering for England, “especially after the words ‘Glory to Ukraine’ on the video by the two Croatians”.
Yevgeny Potapoff, a well-known blogger with 113,000 followers on Twitter, wrote on his social media account: “They're both f******. I'm rooting for England.” One Russian using the name ‘Putin’ on a football chat forum, said: “I never thought I would cheer for the English, but now I will.”
The ‘Glory to Ukraine’ chant was originally a greeting among the Ukrainian nationalists who fought a partisan war against Soviet rule, and became a national rallying cry as protesters faced down police bullets to force out Viktor Yanukovych and usher in a pro-Western government in Kiev in 2014.
Decrying the revolution as a “fascist junta”, Russia annexed Crimea and backed separatists in a grinding war of attrition in eastern Ukraine that continues to flare up periodically.
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