Ukrainian organizers of the Shakhtar Donetsk vs. Legia Warsaw match initially refused to allow fans to enter the stadium with a banner reading “Volhynia — We Remember.” After numerous interventions, the decision was reversed. “There’s nothing offensive about this flag. It’s about commemorating the victims of the genocide of Poles,” said Wojciech Braun “Kelner,” a legendary Legia Warsaw supporter who, during the Civic Platform government, was convicted for… “hatred of Russians.”
On Thursday, Legia Warsaw faced Shakhtar Donetsk in the second round of the Europa Conference League. The Ukrainian team hosts its European matches at Wisła Kraków’s stadium.
A large group of Legia fans traveled to Kraków for the match. However, before entering the stadium, a problem arose. The Warsaw fan group Nieznani Sprawcy (“Unknown Perpetrators”) reported that the head of security for Shakhtar Donetsk — the official host of the match — refused to let fans bring in the “Volhynia — We Remember” banner. In such cases, the security company does not decide on its own whether a banner can be displayed; the final say belongs to the security director or another official responsible for event safety.
“We decided that if the flag doesn’t get in, then neither do we. It cannot be that, in our own country, we’re not allowed to honor our compatriots who were killed in Volhynia,” one of the leaders of Legia’s supporters, who wished to remain anonymous, told us.
He recalled that Legia fans have often criticized Vladimir Putin and Alexander Lukashenko in their chants and banners.
“This flag is only about remembering our ancestors; it contains no symbols whatsoever. Fortunately, thanks to publicizing the issue, the decision was changed, and we were allowed to bring it in. We couldn’t let this go. Our history is sacred — we’ve shown that many times at Legia. Let me remind you that, in our case, the reference to Volhynia is especially meaningful, since that’s precisely where Legia was originally formed by Piłsudski’s legionnaires,” the supporter emphasized.
He explained that UEFA delegates present at the scene were initially unaware of the historical context and had no objections to the flag being blocked.
Wojciech Braun “Kelner” also commented on the situation:
“This is an unimaginable scandal! There’s nothing offensive about that flag. It’s about remembering the victims of the genocide committed against Poles. We have the right to preserve that memory, and no one has the right to forbid us from doing so,” said “Kelner.”
In the end, Legia fans were allowed to enter the stadium with their flag. Officials from Wisła Kraków also intervened in the matter.