Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán wore a scarf at the football match, in which part of Ukraine is presented as part of Hungary.
18:52•Updated 20:25
Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orbán the scarf he wore in a soccer match has angered Ukraine. In the scarf showing the map of Greater Hungary, part of Ukraine is also shown as a region belonging to Hungary.
Ukraine is now demanding an apology for what happened and has summoned the Hungarian ambassador for an interview. Orbán wore a scarf at the match between Hungary and Greece on Sunday.
In addition to Ukraine, the map of the scarf included areas from today’s Austria, Slovakia, Romania, Croatia and Serbia as part of Hungary.
The map depicts the areas that once belonged to the Kingdom of Hungary.
Spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Oleg Nikolenko said that the action does not contribute to the development of relations between Ukraine and Hungary and is not in line with European policy.
Ukraine also demands proof that Hungary does not want to violate Ukraine’s territorial integrity.
The Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also disapproved of the scarf choice. It has expressed to the Hungarian ambassador to Romania that Orbán’s actions cannot be accepted.
Orbán: Don’t read into football what is not there
On Tuesday, Orbán published an article on Facebook that seems to be related to the dispute.
– Football is not politics. Do not read into it what is not there, Orbán said.
He also wrote that “the Hungarian football team belongs to all Hungarians”.
About 150,000 Hungarians live in Ukraine.
Ukraine and Hungary have repeatedly clashed over, among other things, Ukraine’s adoption of a law in 2017 that restricts the use of minority languages in schools.
Hungary considers that it restricts the right of Hungarians living in Ukraine to use their mother tongue.
Is the controversy thought-provoking? You can discuss the topic until Wednesday, November 23, 2022 at 11 p.m.
Sources: AFP, Reuters