A scandal erupted before the match between the national football teams of Albania and Ukraine over the use of the Russian language.

On the eve of the sixth round match of the Nations League group stage between Ukraine and Albania, a traditional press conference was held featuring the national team’s head coach Serhiy Rebrov and forward Roman Yaremchuk.

During the conference, an unpleasant incident occurred.

The Albanian side offered a translator who would relay what was said in Albanian to our representatives in Russian.

Rebrov and Yaremchuk declined this offer, and as a result, their questions from Albanian journalists were translated into English.

After the press conference, a representative of the Albanian Football Federation explained that they considered it "the best solution, as Russian is similar to Ukrainian," reports VZBIRNA.

Background. In the previous match, the Ukrainian national team did not win against Georgia and lost their chances for the playoff qualification for the World Cup through the Nations League.