Ukraine’s Shakhtar to use ex-Russian-owned Chelsea as Champions League home

Al Jazeera · 🇶🇦 public Qatar · Aug 21, 2026 · 387 words · By AFP

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What to know about Ukraine’s Shakhtar to use ex-Russian-owned Chelsea as Champions League home

Ukraine’s Shakhtar to use ex-Russian-owned Chelsea as Champions League home Shakhtar have not played at home since 2014 when Russia annexed the Donetsk region and now switch to Chelsea’s ground.

Claims checked 12

Techniques found 0

Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center67%

Right33%

3 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Ukraine’s Shakhtar to use ex-Russian-owned Chelsea as Champions League home Shakhtar have not played at home since 2014 when Russia annexed the Donetsk region and now switch to Chelsea’s ground.

Why it matters

Ukrainian football club Shakhtar Donetsk has agreement to play their home Champions League games at Chelsea’s ground in London, which for nearly 20 years was owned by Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich.

Common ground

Shakhtar has at least four home games in the elite competition that starts next month, but cannot play in Ukraine for security reasons since the Russian military invasion four years ago.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

Follow-up questions

What concrete event or decision sits underneath the headline: Ukraine’s Shakhtar to use ex-Russian-owned Chelsea as Champions League home?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that Chelsea’s squad includes former Shakhtar winger Mykhaylo Mudryk?
What should readers watch for in the next update to know whether the story is changing?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.aljazeera.com/sports/2026/8/21/ukraines-shakhtar-donetsk-to-play-cha…

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 12 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 7

schedule Pending 2

verified Verified By Reference 2

help Insufficient Evidence 1

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Claim 1: “Chelsea’s squad includes former Shakhtar winger Mykhaylo Mudryk”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 2: “Chelsea did not qualify for any UEFA competition this season”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

verified

Claim 3: “Shakhtar have not played at home since 2014 when Russia annexed the Donetsk region”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

Wikipedia explicitly states that FC Shakhtar Donetsk was based in Donetsk until 2014, when the War in Donbas forced the club to relocate.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Donetsk (UK: , US: dən-; Ukrainian: Донецьк [doˈnɛtsʲk] ; Russian: Донецк [dɐˈnʲetsk] ), formerly known as Aleksandrovka, Yuzivka (or Hughesovka), Stalin, and Stalino, is an industrial city in easter…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donetsk

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Donetsk Clan (Ukrainian: Донецький клан, romanized: Donetskyi klan; Russian: Донецкий клан, romanized: Donetsky klan), also called the Donetsk mafia, the Donetsk Family, or simply "The Family", wa…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donetsk_Clan

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Football Club Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukrainian: Футбольний клуб Шахтар Донецьк) is a Ukrainian professional football club, currently playing out of Lviv. It was based in the city of Donetsk until 2014, whe…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FC_Shakhtar_Donetsk

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 4: “Ukrainian football club Shakhtar Donetsk has agreement to play their home Champions League games at Chelsea’s ground in London”

CORROBORATED

Multiple independent web search results confirm that Shakhtar Donetsk has reached an agreement to play its home Champions League matches at Stamford Bridge in London.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2026–27 season is FC Shakhtar Donetsk's 36th season in existence and the club's 28th consecutive season in the top flight of Ukrainian football. In addition to the domestic league, Shakhtar Donets…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026–27_FC_Shakhtar_Donetsk_se…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2026–27 UEFA Champions League league phase began on 8 September 2026 and will end on 27 January 2027. A total of 36 teams are competing in the league phase to decide the 24 places in the knockout …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026–27_UEFA_Champions_League_…

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+ 3 more evidence sources

verified

Claim 5: “The club has been unable to play in Donetsk since 2014 when Russian-backed conflict started in the Donbas region”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

Wikipedia and web search results confirm the club has been unable to play in Donetsk since the 2014 Russian-backed conflict in the Donbas region.

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web search NEUTRAL — Football Club Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukrainian: Футбольний клуб Шахтар Донецьк. ) is a Ukrainian professional football club, currently playing out of Lviv. It was based in the city of Donetsk until 2014, w…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FC_Shakhtar_Donetsk

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web search NEUTRAL — The club has been unable to play in Donetsk since 2014 when Russian-backed conflict started in the Donbas region. Shakhtar played UEFA competition games in grounds around Ukraine from 2014-21 and sinc…
https://1-e8259.azureedge.net/sports/2026/8/21/ukraines-shak…

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web search NEUTRAL — The Donbas Arena is a football stadium in Donetsk, Ukraine, that opened on 29 August 2009 as the primary home ground for FC Shakhtar Donetsk. [1] With a seating capacity of 52,898, including dedicated…
https://grokipedia.com/page/Donbas_Arena

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Claim 6: “The club’s ownership group now includes United States businessman, Todd Boehly, and Behdad Eghbali of Clearlake Capital”

CORROBORATED

Web search results and Wikipedia confirm the ownership group includes Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali of Clearlake Capital.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Behdad Eghbali (Persian: بهداد اقبالی; born May 6, 1976) is an Iranian–American billionaire businessman and co-founder and managing partner of Clearlake Capital investment firm. As of May 2026, Forbes…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Behdad_Eghbali

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — BlueCo is a consortium led by Clearlake Capital and Hansjörg Wyss. The group was formed as the investment vehicle for the takeover of Premier League football club Chelsea in 2022, later becoming a mul…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BlueCo

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Chelsea Football Club is a professional association football club based in Fulham, West London, England. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football, and rank among the most s…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chelsea_F.C.

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 7: “The team has yet to play a home game in England”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was provided in the search results to confirm or deny whether Shakhtar had played a designated home game in England prior to this specific agreement.

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Claim 8: “The war begun by Russia also forced Abramovich to sell Chelsea under pressure from British government sanctions”

CORROBORATED

Multiple news sources confirm that Abramovich sold Chelsea in 2022 under pressure from British government sanctions following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2003–04 season was Chelsea F.C.'s 12th consecutive season in the Premier League and 98th year as a club. In July 2003, long-time chairman Ken Bates sold the club to Russian billionaire Roman Abram…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003–04_Chelsea_F.C._season

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Roman Arkadyevich Abramovich (born 24 October 1966) is a Russian business oligarch and politician. He is the former owner of Chelsea, a Premier League football club in London. He has Russian, Portugue…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Abramovich

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 9: “Shakhtar said it will play four home games in the main phase at Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge, “subject to regulatory approvals” from UEFA”

CORROBORATED

Web search results confirm Shakhtar has secured four home fixtures at Stamford Bridge for the Champions League main phase.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — The 2026–27 UEFA Champions League is the 72nd season of Europe's premier football tournament organised by UEFA and the 35th season since it was rebranded from the European Cup to the UEFA Champions Le…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026–27_UEFA_Champions_League

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web search NEUTRAL — Shakhtar Donetsk has secured four home fixtures in the Champions League main phase, but cannot play in Ukraine for security reasons due to the ongoing Russian invasion.
https://nourished.news/story/wzipk8fmlxudcifk

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web search NEUTRAL — From the group stage to the knockout rounds, find all of the official UEFA Champions League 2026/2027 fixtures and results here. Visit UEFA.com for more information.
https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/fixtures-results/

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Claim 10: “Shakhtar played UEFA competition games in grounds around Ukraine from 2014-21 and since 2022 in Poland, Germany and Slovenia”

CORROBORATED

Although the 'Evidence for claim 8' section says 'No evidence found', the evidence provided for Claim 7 explicitly contains the sentence: 'Shakhtar played UEFA competition games in grounds around Ukraine from 2014-21 and since 2022 in Poland, Germany and Slovenia.'

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Claim 11: “Chelsea’s ground... for nearly 20 years was owned by Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources, including Wikipedia and legal/news reports, confirm Roman Abramovich owned Chelsea FC for nearly 20 years (specifically 19 years).

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Arkadiy Romanovich Abramovich (Russian: Аркадий Романович Абрамович; born 14 September 1993) is a Russian-born billionaire businessman heir who is the owner of ARA Capital, a private investment compan…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arkadiy_Abramovich

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+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 12: “The opponents will be decided at the competition draw next Thursday in Monaco”

CORROBORATED

Official UEFA and news sources confirm the league phase draw takes place in Monaco on Thursday, August 27, 2026.

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web search NEUTRAL — The 2025–26 UEFA Champions League was the 71st season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 34th season since it was rebranded from the European Cup to the UEFA Champ…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025–26_UEFA_Champions_League

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web search NEUTRAL — League phase draw. Monaco - Thursday 27 August 2026, 16:00 - your local time. Suggested for you.2027 final: All you need to know. The 2026/27 Champions League final will take place at Atleti's Estadio…
https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/draws/

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web search NEUTRAL — Champions League 2026/27 Draw. Every club's eight league-phase opponents from the official draw in Monaco — then simulate your own draw and predict the final 36-team table.
https://www.renderfoot.com/champions-league-draw

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.