His entire career was clearly divided into “before” and “after”. Before the injury he was among the most talented Ukrainian youths; after it he joined the list of so-called unfulfilled hopes. And who, tell me, could have thought that after a string of injuries and wanderings through doctors and clinics, Oleh Yashchuk would become a front-page hero in the sports newspapers of two countries? Who could have dreamed up the wild idea that an active struggle between two states would unfold over a forward with Ukrainian roots?
It all started when Yashchuk managed to recover, having lost several full seasons because of his ailments (he was even dubbed the “Belgian patient”). A bronze medalist of the 1994 European Championship as part of the Ukrainian youth team, having not appeared once in the 2002/2003 season in the main squad of Anderlecht, he returned to action in an official match. Unexpectedly for many, he began to play again and very quickly regained his place in the lineup, forcing Brussels fans to enthusiastically chant his surname once more.
Anderlecht powerfully overcame the first half of the tournament distance, and Yashchuk with the same persistence convinced the team's coach Hugo Broos that his potential was by no means exhausted. The Ukrainian began scoring again, and did so as in his best years - frequently and very effectively.
The new coaching staff of the Ukrainian national team headed by Oleh Blokhin, naturally, paid attention to the productive forward. And included Yashchuk in the list of candidates for participation in a friendly match with the team of Macedonia, which took place on March 31 in Skopje (the Ukrainian team lost with a score of 0:1).
And from that moment the most interesting part began. A call-up from the national team to a foreign club, according to existing norms of international football law, must be sent no later than 15 days before the date of the national team's match. Otherwise, the club's management reserves the right not to release the footballer to the national team.
Belgian Anderlecht not only did not release Yashchuk (although the fax arrived on time), but also sent a response fax to Kyiv, in which the Brussels club stated that Oleh... does not have the right to play for the Ukrainian national team, since a year ago he obtained a Belgian passport. And since Ukrainian laws exclude dual citizenship, Yashchuk should be considered only a citizen of Belgium. And in that case, he has nothing to do in the Ukrainian national team, that is, the Football Federation of Ukraine, they say, will have to forget about Yashchuk...
On Friday, March 26, in Belgium, all sports-related publications were full of articles about Yashchuk, his two passports, and all the consequences arising from this. The footballer himself, as it turned out, was simply stunned by such a turn of events. And in this situation it is difficult to blame him for violating the Constitution of Ukraine, since he left his homeland back in 1996, when this very Constitution was only just being approved.
Oleh, answering questions from the Belgian press, hid nothing and frankly admitted that he had no idea about such consequences of his, as it turned out, careless step. At the same time, he tried to avoid any careless expressions and said that if he had broken the law, he was ready to bear punishment and carry out any decision that would ultimately be made.
“Last year I applied to the relevant authorities with a request to grant me dual citizenship,” says Yashchuk. “I hoped that this step would save me from a number of legal inconveniences when living in Brussels and playing for Anderlecht. After all, at that time I was undergoing a lot of treatment and was practically not playing. It never even occurred to me then that my person might interest the coaches of the Ukrainian national team. Otherwise, I would never have taken Belgian citizenship.”
But a fact is a fact: Oleh now has to make a choice. After all, by and large, he did not violate football laws, but crossed an unclear line only in relation to citizenship. He will most likely not be put in prison. The maximum that this passport story can threaten Yashchuk with is a fine. And the deprivation of a number of privileges that he has had over the past year in Belgium, if he nevertheless makes a choice in favor of his homeland.
Let's fantasize a little and try to put ourselves in the footballer's shoes. He faces a difficult dilemma: Ukraine or Belgium? Choosing one means giving up the other. If he takes Ukraine's side, then, as already mentioned, some difficulties may arise at his place of residence. If he chooses Belgium, it will result in an automatic refusal to play for our national team. What is more precious to him, what will prevail?
There is no need to pressure patriotic feelings in this situation. You can love Ukraine even with a passport of another country, as our former compatriots abroad do, as representatives of the Ukrainian diaspora do. But you may not get to play for the Ukrainian national team. After all, Oleh's health is not the best, and he knows this better than anyone. There is no guarantee that tomorrow or the day after tomorrow he will not be laid up in the infirmary again. His football future is under a question mark, and in this aspect of life - his football career - it seems to me, he no longer harbors particularly ambitious hopes.
Family is what matters to him now. And the wife of the ex-footballer of FC Lviv and Ternopil's Nyva is Belgian. And you yourself understand what choice there can be in this case. By the way, according to Ukrainian legislation, if a citizen of Ukraine automatically received foreign citizenship upon marrying a citizen of that country, then as an exception he may also be allowed to keep Ukrainian citizenship.
That is, it could help Yashchuk only if he automatically received Belgian citizenship upon marriage. But it seems this loophole will not be possible to use, if only because the Belgians, as it turned out, are also seriously determined to attract Oleg to their national team. Aimé Anthuenis, the current coach of the "Red Devils", as the Belgian national team is called, even called up Yashchuk last year for one of the friendly matches. And he was greatly upset by the fact that the footballer he was interested in, who holds a Belgian passport, had already played in official matches for Ukraine.
Anthuenis moved to the national team directly from Anderlecht, where he had become acquainted with the talents of the Ukrainian guy, whom the Brussels club had bought a long time ago from Ternopil's Nyva while he was injured. The Brussels club took a risk and put Yashchuk back on his feet. In 2001, his five-year contract was expiring, and Oleg himself was on sick leave. Therefore, the mere fact of signing a new agreement with a chronically injured footballer, designed for another four years, says a lot.
New trends in world football and a more flexible policy regarding athletes who have played for national teams at youth, junior, or under-21 levels but have decided to change football citizenship give the Belgians grounds to count on Yashchuk's talent. However, for such a transition, our compatriot would need to have at least some Belgian roots, and, apparently, he has none. And apart from his wife, children, and passport, he has no other serious ties to Belgium. A house can be sold, a club can be changed, and a circle of acquaintances can be made in another place.
But will Oleg want to give up what he had been striving for since childhood - the acquisition of a number of life's values and joys - at the expense of his chosen profession as a footballer? He is not 17, nor even 20. He is the head of a family that is 50% Belgian. He is unlikely to radically change the lives of his household members. Especially since now there is certainty in his life: after moving several times, Yashchuk built himself a house in the center of Brussels, in its elite district, moved his mother in with him, and enjoys life in comfortable conditions, where he is an idol for fans and an example for young people.
Tell me, would you agree to give up all this and personally create a set of problems for yourself? I think it is unlikely. So let us accept any decision by Yashchuk as the only correct one, because it is Oleg who is to direct his own fate in one direction or another. And at the same time, I advise you to come to terms with the thought that if changes are not made to our citizenship law, we will lose more than one athlete.