crowd control at the zenit stadium was in keeping with the tense atmosphere. armed nazi guards and their german shepherd dogs patrolled the touchline. ukrainian police kept the civilian crowd back by waving pick-axe handles. the german spectators and their ukrainian sympathisers had the seats in the grandstand. the ukrainian supporters made do with the grassed edges of the football pitch. as the ukrainian players were getting ready in the fc start dressing room, an ss officer entered unannounced. according to goncharenko, he addressed the team in perfect russian:
ı am the referee of today's game. ı know you are a very good team. please follow the rules, do not break any of the rules, and before the game, greet your opponents in our fashion.
goncharenko knew immediately what this meant. they had a nazi fanatic as referee. and fc start were expected to give the nazi salute before the start of the game. after the ss man left, there was pandemonium in the dressing room. some players wanted to pull out altogether. others wanted to play hard and win hard. a rukh player, who was a ring-in for fc start, suggested it was best if they throw the match. meanwhile a rumanian delegation appeared with followers and fruit and wished fc start good luck. other visitors just brought their advice, which was mainly along the lines of deliberately losing the match. ın all this hubbub, the team decided to just go out there and play football.
the minutes before kick-off did little to reduce the tension. the burly and well-fed flakelf team lined up and gave the nazi salute. 'heil hitler!' they chorused. the german spectators roared approval. the fc start players stood with heads down. ıt was their turn. they slowly raised their arms. ıt looked as if they were going along with their instructions from the 'referee'. but instead of giving a nazi salute, the fc start players brought their arms back to their chests and, in unison, shouted a soviet slogan, 'fizculthura!' (physical culture hooray!)
the chant was a public rejection of the nazi regime. to make matters worse 'hurrah!' was the battle cry of red army soldiers, a sound that the german soldiers present would have known only too well. then the game began.
just as the fc start players forecast, the nazi referee ignored flakelf fouls and the german team quickly targeted trusevich, the goalkeeper who, after a sustained campaign of physical challenges, was kicked in the head by a flakelf forward and left groggy. while trusevich was recovering, flakelf went one goal up.
the referee continued to ignore fc start appeals against their opponents' violence. the flakelf team went on with their war of intimidation using all the tactics of a dirty team, going for the man not the ball, shirt-holding, and tackling from behind, as well as going over the ball. despite this fc start scored with a long shot from a free kick by kuzmenko. then goncharenko, against the run of play, dribbled the ball around almost the entire flakelf defence and tapped it into in the german net. 2-1! by half-time, fc start were yet another goal up.
ın the jubilant fc start dressing room, the team received two unwanted visitors. the collaborator shvetsov turned up and told them that it would be in their best interests to protect themselves. he left.
shvetsov was then followed by yet another ss officer. this ss man explained calmly and politely, again in perfect russian, that although the ukrainians had played very well in the first half, there was no way they could win the game. they should be aware of the consequences of their actions, he said. he turned and left.
the second half was almost an anti-climax. the flakelf players seemed to be terrified of the ukrainian fans and were far less physical. each side scored twice. towards the end of the match, with fc start in an almost unbeatable position at 5-3, klimenko, a defender, got the ball, beat the entire german rearguard and walked around the german goalkeeper. then, instead of letting it cross the goal line, he turned around and kicked the ball back towards the centre circle.
ıt was total humiliation for flakelf. an fc start defender choosing not to score against them. the ss referee blew the final whistle before the ninety minutes were up.
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