Liverpool Fans And Kyivans Form An Unlikely Bond

27 May 2018 18:48

Real Madrid may be rightfully celebrating their win over Liverpool Football Club in last night’s UEFA Champions League final, but there is another victory very worth mentioning.

Real Madrid may be rightfully celebrating their win over Liverpool Football Club in last night’s UEFA Champions League final in Kyiv, but there is another victory very worth mentioning.

Ukraine's capital has come out a winner by doing a wonderful job hosting the event at its Olimpiyskyi and Lobanovskyi stadiums. By all means, this was also thanks to the ordinary citizens whose outrage over racked-up accommodation prices led them to open up their homes to devoted fans.

Liverpool supporters Sam Inkson and his son Ian were among the lucky ones to get free accommodation during their time in Kyiv. Reaching the Ukrainian capital was no mean feat for these men. First, they had to fly to Leeds, where they then took a flight to Warsaw. And finally, a 17-hour bus journey brought the football fans from Warsaw to Kyiv. This may sound like a hassle, but alongside the Inksons,12 other fans decided to take the same route roughly costing £300 for two people.

Yuriy (L), Sam (M) and Ian inside the room where they stayed in Kyiv on May 26. Photo credit: Anastasia Vlasova / HROMADSKE

Sam and Ian really are what you would call die-hard fans. For many years, they’ve been following Liverpool FC around Europe for their matches. Their encounter with Kyiv started on a negative note.

Ian (front left) and Sam Inkson (center left) walk around Kyiv with their fellow football fans ahead of the UEFA Champions League on May 26. Photo credit: Anastasia Vlasova / HROMADSKE

Upon finding and securing their first accommodation choice a month prior to the final, Sam and Ian were soon notified by the flat owner that they will have to pay £1,000 upfront.

Ian Inkson (front left) and other Liverpool fans cheer in Shevchenko Park in Kyiv ahead of the UEFA Champions League in Kyiv on May 26. Photo credit: Anastasia Vlasova / HROMADSKE

Refusing this ‘act of generosity,’ they fortunately came across Yuriy, a Ukrainian journalist who had offered out his flat on one of the Facebook groups that emerged in response to hotels and flats increasing prices.

Liverpool fans cheer in Shevchenko Park in Kyiv ahead of the UEFA Champions League in Kyiv on May 26. Photo credit: Anastasia Vlasova / HROMADSKE

Liverpool fans enjoy the festivities in Shevchenko Park in Kyiv ahead of the UEFA Champions League in Kyiv on May 26. Photo credit: Anastasia Vlasova / HROMADSKE

Liverpool fans mess about in Shevchenko Park in Kyiv ahead of the UEFA Champions League in Kyiv on May 26. Photo credit: Anastasia Vlasova / HROMADSKE

Liverpool fans pose for a photograph in Shevchenko Park in Kyiv ahead of the UEFA Champions League in Kyiv on May 26. Photo credit: Anastasia Vlasova / HROMADSKE

Liverpool fans take a nap ahead of the UEFA Champions League in Kyiv on May 26. Photo credit: Anastasia Vlasova / HROMADSKE

Liverpool fans mess about in Shevchenko Park in Kyiv ahead of the UEFA Champions League in Kyiv on May 26. Photo credit: Anastasia Vlasova / HROMADSKE

Liverpool fans enjoy the festivities in Shevchenko Park in Kyiv ahead of the UEFA Champions League in Kyiv on May 26. Photo credit: Anastasia Vlasova / HROMADSKE

Liverpool fans mess about in Shevchenko Park in Kyiv ahead of the UEFA Champions League in Kyiv on May 26. Photo credit: Anastasia Vlasova / HROMADSKE

Liverpool fans play about in Shevchenko Park in Kyiv ahead of the UEFA Champions League in Kyiv on May 26. Photo credit: Anastasia Vlasova / HROMADSKE

Liverpool fans enjoy the festivities in Shevchenko Park in Kyiv ahead of the UEFA Champions League in Kyiv on May 26. Photo credit: Anastasia Vlasova / HROMADSKE

Liverpool fans head to the Olimpiyskiy Stadium where the UEFA Champions League final took place on May 26. Photo credit: Anastasia Vlasova / HROMADSKE

The Inksons also used the opportunity of being in Kyiv to explore the city’s numerous sights.

Among some of the sights they saw in the city were the Golden Gates and the National Opera building, the latter leaving Sam particularly impressed.

Sam (far-right) and Ian Inkson (second from right) pose for photographs in front of the National Opera building on May 26 in Kyiv. Photo credit: Anastasia Vlasova / HROMADSKE

The two men admit that they were worried initially about their Kyiv trip knowing that there’s an ongoing war in the country, but they soon realized that the capital is far from the warzone.

Seeing it first hand has also left an indelible positive impression on the well-traveled football fans.

Among the things that Liverpool fans enjoyed the most in Kyiv are the cheap beer prices. Photo credit: Anastasia Vlasova / HROMADSKE

“Never ever have I seen the residents of the UEFA final city so hospitable and ready to open up their doors for the visitors,” Sam told Hromadske adding that the cheap beer was also a pleasant surprise.

/By Anastasia Vlasova

/Translated and adapted by Maria Romanenko