Peace in Ukraine is paramount for me

After the Hajduk vs Shakhtar match, FC Shakhtar Director of Football Darijo Srna answered questions from the press.

- Happy birthday, Darijo! Today Shakhtar have played in your homeland, with many fans present. Is it thanks to you or because the Croats remember what the occupation is like and really support Ukraine in a special way?

- Thank you for the greetings! All the people who have been present at the stadium today did not come thanks to me – they understand the situation in which Shakhtar and the whole of Ukraine find themselves, they respect this. Unfortunately, the match fell on the holidays… Had the date been different, a capacity crowd would have gathered. But all the same, we should thank them because everything was organized very beautifully, very emotionally. It’s also very pleasant that Mr. Ceferin attended the game – this shows how much he respects Croatian football, Hajduk, and the situation in which Shakhtar find themselves these days. We talked with him many times, and he always meets our needs, always helps us. So we are really grateful to him! And thanks to everyone who participated in the Shakhtar Global Tour. We’ll keep on doing it, we will showcase our play and move forward together with Shakhtar.

- How do foreigners currently support Ukraine in general?

- You can see that everywhere we went, they received us very nicely and with great respect for the situation in which Ukraine finds itself these days. And that’s really nice.

- The Shakhtar players came out wearing jerseys that remind the whole world of Azovstal and Mariupol. What would you say to world leaders about Mariupol and what is happening there right now?

- Firstly, I would like to address all the people who are at Azovstal today: they are big heroes, they defend our homeland, they hold the wall that doesn’t fall, and we are sure that it will not fall. Today this game is dedicated to them, to our heroes. And we know that this is the plant of the president of our club, Rinat Akhmetov, but for him the most important thing is human life. We hope that this will end soon, that people will leave Azovstal and continue to live normal lives as they deserve it.

- What are the current results of Shakhtar's charity tour?

- When we presented this idea to the president of the club, he told us to go and do everything to help Ukraine and the Ukrainian people. Today, the most important thing is to help Ukrainians, to help children. We have already raised some money and we are collecting more, and we are starting to buy some items that the displaced people and children need. Shakhtar will never abandon them. And I want to assure them that this is not our last game and we will represent Ukraine everywhere and all the time. We are really proud to be playing for Ukraine and wearing the Shakhtar crest these days.

- On your birthday, what is your biggest wish?