For more than seven months, Uefa has offered no response to a formal request from the Ukrainian Association of Football (UAF) to investigate the presence of imitation football clubs from occupied Ukraine within the Russian league system. The fake versions of Shakhtar Donetsk and Zorya Luhansk now compete in Russia’s fourth-tier Football National League 2B, with the counterfeit Shakhtar leading the division and threatening to legitimize its existence through on-field success. The UAF’s letter, sent in October 2025, called on Uefa to clarify the legal status of these clubs and take action, but the governing body has remained conspicuously silent.
The real Shakhtar Donetsk are a storied institution, having just secured their 16th Ukrainian Premier League title and booking a place in next season’s Champions League proper. Zorya Luhansk, too, are established top-flight competitors. Both clubs were displaced by Russia’s 2014 invasion and subsequent occupation of parts of eastern Ukraine, forcing them to relocate and rebuild their identities within Ukrainian-controlled territory. Their success is a testament to resilience, yet their names and histories are now being exploited by Russian-backed entities.
In March 2026, imitation teams bearing the names and co-opting the heritage of Shakhtar and Zorya entered Russia’s professional pyramid. The fake Shakhtar, based in the Russian city of Taganrog but listing an address in occupied Donetsk, were granted a license and directly placed into Group 1 of League 2B. They have since won seven of their nine matches, sitting atop the standings and eyeing promotion to the third tier. Their website brazenly celebrates the club’s 90th anniversary, stealing the real Shakhtar’s history. Meanwhile, ‘Zarya Luhansk’ play in Kamensk-Shakhtinsky but train in occupied Luhansk, having been moved up a tier without earning it through sporting merit.
This is not an isolated incident. Crimea-based Rubin Yalta and FC Sevastopol were incorporated into Russian competitions three years ago, and Uefa acknowledged it was ‘assessing the situation’ back then. However, no tangible outcome or disciplinary action has ever been announced. The expansion to include Donetsk and Luhansk-based fakes suggests a deliberate, creeping annexation of Ukrainian football by Russia, with Uefa’s inertia effectively enabling it.
The UAF’s October 2025 letter, addressed to Uefa general secretary Theodore Theodoridis, argued that the participation of clubs registered in occupied Ukraine without UAF consent constitutes a direct violation of territorial jurisdiction. It warned that this was a ‘coordinated political attempt to legitimise the occupation and erase the identity of Ukrainian football.’ The letter requested an investigation, an official explanation of the clubs’ legal position, and a report back to the UAF. To date, no reply has been received.
The Russian Football Union (RFU) has previously claimed that League 2B is an amateur competition not under its direct control. However, inquiries by the Guardian last year revealed that clubs in that tier operate with professional structures, and the imitation Shakhtar’s own website describes the league as ‘professional.’ The club’s president, Igor Petrov, has publicly stated his ambition to reach ‘the elite of Russian football,’ further undermining the amateur pretense. This ambiguity has allowed Uefa to avoid confrontation, as the RFU remains a full member of both Uefa and Fifa despite Russia’s national and club teams being banned from international competition.
The situation poses a profound threat to the integrity of European football. By allowing these clubs to compete, Uefa risks setting a precedent where national associations can absorb teams from occupied territories without consequence. Ukrainian football, already battered by war and displacement, faces the erasure of its historical clubs and the legitimization of a parallel system that effectively whitewashes Russia’s annexation. The silence from Nyon leaves the UAF isolated, forced to watch its sporting sovereignty being dismantled in real time.
Russia’s national team and clubs have been suspended from all Uefa and Fifa competitions since 2022 following the full-scale invasion. Yet the RFU’s continued membership in these bodies grants it a veneer of legitimacy. Uefa’s failure to act on the fake clubs suggests a troubling reluctance to confront Moscow beyond the existing bans, perhaps fearing further diplomatic fallout or legal challenges. When contacted, Uefa declined to comment, a stance that speaks volumes about its current priorities.
For the real Shakhtar and Zorya, the presence of impostor clubs is an emotional blow, but also a practical one. It muddies the waters regarding player contracts, youth development, and commercial rights. If the fake Shakhtar gain promotion, they could eventually enter the same competition ecosystem as Europe’s elite, creating absurd scenarios where two ‘Shakhtars’ exist in official databases. More broadly, each match played by these teams lends incremental legitimacy to Russia’s occupation, turning football into a tool of hybrid warfare.
The UAF’s plea underscores a growing crisis in sports governance: how to protect the integrity of competition when a member association engages in systematic predation. Uefa’s inaction is not merely bureaucratic delay; it is a decision that allows the steady erosion of a member nation’s footballing identity. As the fake Shakhtar’s players celebrate goals and victories, the real champions prepare for the Champions League, a stark reminder of what remains and what is being stolen. Based on reporting from The Guardian.