Ukrainian footballer's Polish club celebrates victory in Champions League qualifiers with letter Z

The Polish club Raków, which is represented by Ukrainian midfielder Vladyslav Kochergin, has found itself in an unpleasant situation after winning the first round of the Champions League qualifiers. The Polish champion beat Estonian side Flora 3-0, with striker Lukasz Zwolinski scoring a brace.

Raków decided to play on the player's surname by posting a Twitter post with an emphasis on the letter Z.

"A mark of quality," read the caption under Zwolinski's photo with a huge fiery "Z" in the foreground.

After users staged a riot in the comments, the club apologised and removed the scandalous photo.

"Let me explain right away. The intention was to reproduce the gif and use the 'Z' associated with Zorro and Zvolak. The letter has many meanings, but one is very negative. It was inappropriate. We deleted the post as soon as it was published. It is appropriate to acknowledge the mistake and apologise," Raków spokesman Michał Szprendalowicz wrote on Twitter.

It is worth noting that not everyone in Poland saw this as a problem.

"I didn't know that Zorro was also banned. It's a pity. I liked him when I was a kid," joked Dariusz Faron, a journalist for Wirtualna Polska.

"I think we are all starting to interpret some things... It is known that Z is now associated with negativity, but let's not be paranoid and follow common sense. When I saw this post, I immediately noticed a reference to Zorro..." - said Maciej Lanczkowski from Pilka Nozna.

"Let's not go crazy, we're not going to remove Zorro from pop culture just because some psychopath in the Kremlin attacked another country by painting the same letter on tanks. Besides, the reference is clear, because it is a sign of quality," added Szymon Janczyk from Weszko.com.

In the second qualifying round of the Champions League, the team will play either Karabakh Agdam or Lincoln Red Imps.

Only verified information is available in our Obozrevatel Telegram channel and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!