Ukrainian footballer gets yellow card for speaking Russian

Kiev has sought to restrict the use of the language in public since the 2014 Euromaidan coup

A Ukrainian football player was shown a yellow card for refusing to stop speaking Russian on the pitch.

The incident occurred Sunday during a Ukrainian Women’s Top League game between Kolos from the Kiev region and SeaSters from the Black Sea port city of Odessa.

Referee Anastasia Romanyuk paused the game around the 43rd minute to show a yellow card to SeaSters midfielder Irina Maiborodina.

The decision sparked a brief argument between Romanyuk and SeaSters coach Denis Kolchin.

“The yellow card was given for dissent [with the referee’s decision]. This is a Ukrainian championship, so we are not speaking Russian. I asked the player to speak Ukrainian,” Romanyuk said, according to news website Sport.ua.

READ MORE: Ukrainian official calls for ban on singing in Russian

Since the Western-backed coup in 2014, Ukraine has passed several laws restricting the use of Russian in public.

Freedom & democracy: Ukrainian player is fined with “yellow card” for speaking Russian in Ukrainian Women’s Premier League football (soccer) match in Kyiv region. Referee stopped the match & stated that Ukrainian must be spoken on the field. pic.twitter.com/nyhIxxSMmH

— Ivan Katchanovski (@I_Katchanovski) August 19, 2025

Politicians and influencers have campaigned to discourage speaking Russians, which they describe as “the language of the aggressor state.”

Moscow has maintained that the treatment of the Russian-speaking minority in Ukraine is one of the key causes of the current conflict.