Standing on the steps of Hampden in the late afternoon sunlight, Jim Struthers is wearing the same Scotland top he wore in 1998 – the last time his team qualified for the World Cup – but his heart is with Ukraine.
“It’s a very poignant evening,” says the Tartan Army stalwart, who has been supporting the Scottish national team for nearly half a century, and has come together with other fans to perform the Ukrainian national anthem – led by the opera singer Vasyl Savenko – on the steps of the Glasgow stadium as the crowds stream in for Wednesday’s qualifier.
“Part of you says it wants Ukraine to do well and part says: ‘Oh no, no, no …’ I feel for Ukraine, my passion is football, and this is a good way to connect.”
“It’s like Rabbie Burns,” he muses. “He wrote that the time will come when all will brothers be.”
The plan for Scots to join Ukrainian fans in singing their national anthem inside Hampden as an expression of unity was prompted by the language learning app Duolingo.
“It was one of those ideas that just snowballed,” explains the app’s UK manager, Colin Watkins. A phonetic Latin version from the original Cyrillic script of Shche Ne Vmerla Ukrayina was produced for Scots to practise in advance and fans walking into the stadium will all receive a leaflet explaining the plan “to raise the roof at Hampden Park”.
For the professional musician Iryna Ganzha, who is accompanying the singing on the bandura, a 65-string instrument made only in Ukraine, the significance of Wednesday’s match and show of vocal solidarity is immense.
“This is incredibly important for the whole of Ukraine to see, those who cannot be here, our brave women and men on the frontline,” she said.
“Ukraine is a singing nation, we express ourselves through music, and so the support of the Scottish people standing hand in hand with us and also voice to voice means so much.”
There were around 3,500 Ukraine fans in attendance at Hampden Park, including an invited group of orphans, able to witness their team’s surprise 1-3 victory over the Scots. Ukraine will now play Wales on Sunday at 5pm in Cardiff for the chance to qualify for the Qatar World Cup which begins in November.
Earlier, around the stadium, the usual festival atmosphere was undercut by a pulse of raw emotion. Kostaia waves his flag wildly in time to the folk songs that another supporter is belting out by the car park. She wears the traditional floral crown paired with jeans, like many female Ukrainian fans at the stadium.
Kostaia has travelled from London today: his boss, a Scot, gave him the day off. “Today is very difficult for me because of what is happening in my country.” His eyes are wet. “I want to help but I can’t.”
But the show of solidarity is not reserved for Hampden, as fans came together across Scotland on Wednesday evening.
In the Highland Perthshire town of Aberfeldy, where the community has welcomed 40 Ukrainians since the conflict began, the Black Watch pub is draped in both saltires and the blue and yellow bands of Ukraine for the occasion.
“This is an opportunity to have a bit of normality together,” explains the pub’s owner, Gavin Price, who is also manager of Elgin FC. “It’s been a settling-in process for all of us. It’s a friendly buildup, but when it comes to the football I’m sure both nations wants their team to win.”
Hannah Beaton-Hawryluk, the chair of the Edinburgh branch of the Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain, travelled to Hampden with her son after arranging two coaches to transport fans from the capital to Glasgow.
“It’s a little bit of light relief for people who arrived here, some with only the clothes they stand up in. It’s about being together and celebrating no matter what the outcome.”
Beaton-Hawryluk anticipates that singing her national anthem alongside home supporters at kick-off will be an “incredible” moment. She apologises as her voice breaks.
The association, which was founded in Edinburgh in 1946, has been so busy offering support to refugees who began arriving in February that she only now has a moment to reflect.
“Scots have been incredible from the moment the war started. They have rallied round and put their arms around Ukraine,” she said.
