‘It’s so hard, we can’t be truly happy’

THERE were tears, but no tear gas, unlike in Paris at the weekend. in fact, there were very few police. They were not needed here, not for an occasion governed by respect and a collective longing for peace.

in the hours before kick-off, on a grass bank outside Hampden Park, supporters of Scotland and Ukraine gathered as one. For once, a half-and-half scarf did not feel at all crass or gimmicky.

That so few of those in yellow and blue spoke English, though, left you in no doubt as to this — they never intended to be here in the first place.

in another world, a better world, they would be at home watching this game on TV. For them, home is Kyiv, Kharkiv or Donetsk, not Glasgow, Edinburgh or Belfast.

One elderly man was locked in conversation with a Scottish couple of similar vintage. He could offer little more than, ‘Thank you’ and ‘i love you’, but the gratitude was genuine and prolonged.

The feeling you were left with, however, was that very few Ukrainians felt particularly lucky to have a ticket. That may have changed a little come full time, given a victory that takes them one game away from the World Cup finals in Qatar.

But this was no lads away day supping ale beneath the summer sun. For Ukraine, darkness pervades and life as they know it was frozen on that winter’s day in February when Russian tanks crossed their border.

Anna Bushtruk, 28, was among a group made up predominantly of women, among them her sisters, mother and grandmother.

‘We are from Kyiv,’ she said. ‘We left end of February. We now live in Northern ireland. We don’t know when we can go back.

‘We don’t know what has happened with our house but we had to be here, to say thank you for the support of UK people and to support our guys on the pitch.’

Lillia Fedorets, 30, had also flown over from Belfast. Her English was broken. So, too, was her voice.

‘it is so hard — we want to be happy,’ she said, wiping away tears. ‘But it’s hard. Our friends, so many people, are in Ukraine.

‘We just have to wait. We come here to see our people and to see the people who stand with us.’

it was a very different mood 12 months ago, when Ukraine played here in the last 16 of Euro 2020 and were 2-1 winners against Sweden.

They wore ‘Shevchenko 7’ shirts that night. Those same shirts were visible here, too, but how much heavier they must weigh given the worry of the situation in their homeland.

By the time the Ukraine players emerged in the minutes before kick-off, each was draped in his country’s distinctive yellow and blue flag. That is their weaponry these days.

The Ukrainian national anthem was sung with spine-tingling gusto by 2,000 of their countrymen and women, as well as those locals attempting to add their voice. But the Scots were soon silenced.

What played out on the pitch was truly remarkable.

if the spirit and tenacity of those in yellow is reflective of their compatriots on the frontline, it is little wonder invading Russian forces have been repelled. Scotland were certainly no match for them on this battlefield.

Ukraine’s performance sent a message to the world. One of, primarily, defiance and dignity but also that, on this evidence, they truly would belong at the World Cup finals.

Still, you would be wrong to label their tears joyous — they will only truly flow when this horrendous war is over.