European football's governing body UEFA has been told by the Ukrainian FA to investigate an incident which saw a Manchester City supporter hit as an official tried to confiscate his Ukrainian flag.
Yaakov Kris, 30, is a City supporters' club member and attended the Champions League final in Istanbul this weekend. Now residing in Israel, Kris was originally born in the southern Ukrainian city of Odessa and brought a Ukrainian flag with him to show solidarity with his country.
However, after putting the flag on display at the front of the stand, Kris filmed a confrontation he had with two men who were trying to confiscate it. At one stage, a man wearing a UEFA accreditation and Turkey-branded clothing appeared to hit Kris' hand in order to free the flag from his grasp.
Speaking to The Guardian, general secretary of the Ukrainian FA, Yuriy Zapisotskiy, called on UEFA to investigate the incident. He said: "We have already sent in a request for clarification and estimation of the situation and whether there was any breach of UEFA rules by the fan. We are quite sensitive to these things. There has been no response so far."
ALSO READ: City fans brave storm to celebrate Treble success
A UEFA spokesman told the newspaper the incident was 'unfortunate' and there was no prohibition on national flags at the Ataturk Stadium. "First of all, please be informed that security inside the stadium is under the responsibility of the local organisers and the local police," he said.
"It was an unfortunate individual initiative from one of the local Turkish police security officers to remove the flag. When the Turkish police match commander was informed, he immediately asked for the flag to be returned to the fan, which you can see happening within seconds if you have access to the full video.
"Please note that UEFA does not prohibit the display of Ukrainian flags at stadiums and indeed has actively displayed messages encouraging peace in all of its games since the outbreak of the war."
Kris explained after the flag was returned to him, who he called 'stadium officials' tried to take it down again before asking him to leave the stadium with them. Fortunately for the City fan, his fellow supporters stepped in and shielded him from any further abuse throughout the duration of the match.
UEFA has come under fire since the final for their lack of organisation. City supporters complained about the facilities inside the fan park as well as the poor transport to and from the stadium in Istanbul.
The Treble of Premier League, FA Cup and UEFA Champions League is the ultimate footballing achievement and you can get your hands on the only official souvenir publication of Manchester City's history-making 2022-23 season, packed with amazing pictures, match reports and reaction. Get your copy here.
READ NEXT:
