A meeting took place at the House of Football between the president of the Ukrainian Association of Football, head of the UAF Coordination Center Andriy Pavelka, and referee Irina Petrova.

Recently, Irina managed to evacuate from Nova Kakhovka, where she had been held captive by Russian occupiers for several days. Since the beginning of the temporary occupation of her hometown by Russian fascists, Irina demonstrated active patriotic positions, for which she was thrown into prison.

Photo by Pavel Kubanov

During the conversation, the referee spoke about the trials she had to endure in Nova Kakhovka, about the life of residents in a temporarily occupied city, and her own plans for the future. Irina also expressed gratitude to the president of UAF and the leadership of the Referees Committee of UAF for help with safe evacuation.

Photo by Irina Petrova

"During our meeting at the House of Football, I personally expressed my admiration for her patriotism and bravery. Since the beginning of the temporary occupation of Kherson region by Russians, Ira, along with many residents of her hometown, went out every day to protest against occupiers and categorically refused to work on a match organized by Russian fascists. For this, she was imprisoned and threatened with long-term deprivation of freedom. But they did not break her! Irina is a symbol of freedom and unyieldingness of Ukraine! She sincerely loves football and accepted my proposal to work in the unified team of UAF. I am proud that we have such brave professionals-patriots!" — Andriy Pavelko said after the meeting.

Photo by Pavel Kubanov

As a reminder, UAF President gifted Irina Petrova a national team jersey from a special limited edition.