The Ukrainian embassy in Finland considered it a shame that the match was played in Helsinki and saw it as a small step toward normalising Belarus, which supports Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, according to Swedish Yle.
A press conference the day before the match began with goalkeeper Viljami Sinisalo reading out a statement on Ukraine.
Team captain Lukas Hradecky said the Belarus match had led to discussions within the team.
This is an open national team and everyone has the full right to a moral compass. If someone had raised their hand and said that they found it difficult to play against Belarus, that would have been completely okay. Now everyone got to have their say, said goalkeeper Hradecky according to Swedish Yle.
During the warm-up, the Finnish players wore shirts that read: “We stand for peace.” Among other things, the net proceeds from ticket sales will now be donated to support efforts for Ukraine.
Unlike Russia, the European Football Association (Uefa) has not suspended Belarus, but national teams and clubs from the country must play their home matches in competitions on neutral ground.
From a sporting perspective, things didn't go well for Finland. The match ended goalless.
