Everton played a friendly vs. Ukrainian side Dynamo Kyiv at home on Friday in a “Match for Peace,” and the club decided to honor a fan during the game.
Paul Stratton, an Everton fan who has been aiding Ukrainian refugees amid Russia’s ongoing invasion into the country, checked in to the game to take a penalty kick. Stratton cooly slotted the spot kick home past an unmoving Dynamo Kyiv goalkeeper.
The goal didn’t count on the final scoresheet, but the Toffees still finished the friendly with a 3–0 win behind a brace by new signee Dwight McNeil.
Stratton is a 44-year-old council worker in Liverpool who left for Poland in March with his brother to help take care of refugees fleeing from Ukraine.
“I couldn’t sit at home and do nothing,” he said in March, via BBC News.
While the result of the friendly doesn’t mean much in the end, Stratton’s moment in the sun is sure to be a memorable one.
