Pictures have emerged today from Ukraine which show extensive damage to part of Shakhtar Donetsk's Donbass Arena. The club claim that the damage came as a result of artillery shelling, as the Ukrainian Army clash with pro-Russian fighters for control of the city. They also said that no casualties resulted from the attack.
The UEFA category 4 stadium hosted five games during Euro 2012 and was designed by ArupSport, who also designed the Allianz Arena in Munich and the City of Manchester Stadium.
A statement made by Shakhtar today read:
On 23 August, at 6:00, two powerful explosions occurred at Donbass Arena.
As a result of shelling, there are numerous damages of the northwestern facade of the stadium, communications, equipment and detached building of the energy centre, which is located in the northern part of the Donbass Arena park.
There are no casualties among the stadium staff.
Due to the ongoing unrest in eastern Ukraine, Shakhtar announced earlier this summer that they were not in a position to host matches at the Donbass Arena and would be playing their home games in Lviv for the forseeable future.
Despite this temporary relocation, six Shakhtar players – Fred, Ismaily, Douglas Costa, Alex Teixeira, Dentinho and Facundo Ferreyra – refused to return to Ukraine because of the current political situation in the country. Hard to blame them really.
Pictures via 101GreatGoals
