LETTERS TO THE EDITOR (07/20/97)

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

An ideal location for McDonald's

Dear Editor:

Whew! So McDonald's finally opened in Ukraine, and your Kyiv Bureau has reported on it in interesting detail.

But there's one question they haven't answered yet. Will McDonald's Ukraine go for the brass ring: the site of the existing golden arch on the bluff overlooking the Dnipro and Podil, where the Khreschatyk and Hrushevsky Street come together?

Not only would it be an ideal location from the business point of view, attracting Verkhovna Rada deputies and staffers, ministers, bankers, as well as tourists, it also would give respectability to the idiotic monument marking "eternal union" between Ukraine and Russia.

But it's only a single arch, you say? So what. In McLean, Va., where I live, there is a McDonald's just off the main drag and it has only a single golden arch. Nonetheless, on any given day you can meet some big Washington movers and shakers, "Beltway bandits," retirees and teen-agers there.

Go for it, Big Mac!

R.L. Chomiak
Vienna, Va.

FIFA, not athletes, should be faulted

Dear Editor:

Responding to the letter "Ukraine's players out of uniform" (June 22), I can understand the misgivings Victor Lapychak has toward Ukrainian footballers representing Russia. However, they are not to blame.

In 1994 the Ukrainians had a choice of playing in Russian uniform or not at all. Playing in a World Cup comes once a lifetime and every footballer knows it could be the difference between fame and fortune, or oblivion. When Serhij Yuran was asked why he switched his allegiance from Ukraine to Russia, soon after scoring the winning goal for Russia in a qualifying match against Northern Ireland, he simply said "at the age of 28 this is my one and only chance to play in a World Cup" (Agence France Presse, October 16, 1992).

So who was to blame? A spineless organization called FIFA!

FIFA, under extreme pressure from Mr. Kolesnikov, president of the Russian Soccer Federation, set a precedent by giving Russia automatic entry to the '94 World Cup qualifiers. And to ensure Russia had a formidable team, FIFA denied Ukraine full membership until June 1992. This allowed Russia to use Ukrainian footballers in the qualifiers because Ukraine was not a member of FIFA. When the Ukrainian Soccer Federation filed an official complaint, FIFA turned its back.

Furthermore, FIFA - which knew that Ukraine would make a formal application to be included in the qualifying matches immediately after its December 1991 referendum on independence - decided to hold the draw for the 1994 World Cup one day earlier, on November 30. This despite a plea from the Ukrainian Soccer Federation to delay the draw for another 24 hours.

Mr. Kolesnikov not only pressured FIFA but also threatened the Ukrainian Soccer Federation that, if they broke away from the former Soviet competition and formed their own Ukrainian competition, he would do his utmost to have Ukraine barred from International Soccer (AFP, December 15, 1991).

When I wrote to Mr. Blather, FIFA general secretary, for an explanation on why FIFA was taking steps to exclude Ukraine in favor of Russia, his written response was "I do not need to answer." What in fact Mr. Blather should have said is, "I have no answer."

I would also like to add that, contrary to Mr. Lapychak's statement, Ukraine's best players are not playing for Russia and the history of '94 is not repeating itself. In the last two qualifying matches, against Israel and Cyprus, there were no Ukrainians in the Russian team. The only Ukrainians used by Russia so far are Onopko, Nykyforov and Zymbalar, who were part of the '94 Russian squad and, therefore, are ineligible to play for Ukraine.

One also has to be fair and admit that the traffic has not been only one way. The captain of the Ukrainian and Dynamo Kyiv teams, Yuri Kalitvintsev, is a Russian who has given Ukrainian football not only excellent service but also outstanding leadership on the field.

Finally, I would like to mention an interesting possibility that Ukraine and Russia could finish second in their respective group. As second-place teams must play another elimination round to qualify and opponents are determined by lottery, Ukraine could meet Russia in a play-off to decide who goes to France. And if - a big "if" - they meet and Ukraine is successful, while Russia is not, then one could assume that this is a case of poetic justice.

Nestor Jaworsky
Melbourne

The writer is former public affairs director for the Federation of Ukrainian Organizations in Australia.

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