Where do Shakhtar Donetsk play their home games and since when have they not played in Ukraine?

Barcelona look to have put their recent Champions League troubles behind them this season, with Xavi Hernández’s men chasing a fourth successive group stage victory against Shakhtar Donetsk on Tuesday that will secure progress to the round of 16 for the first time since 2020-21.

The Catalans recorded a narrow home victory in their matchday three clash against the Ukrainians, who currently sit third in the group (six points beind Barça, three behind Porto) and could really do with a positive result to boost their own qualification hopes.

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When was the last time Shakhtar played at Donas Arena?

The regularity with which Shakhtar have qualified for the Champions League, as well as their performances in the tournament, has been all the more impressive by the fact they haven’t played any matches at their home stadium, Donbas Arena in Donetsk, since 2014 because of the Donbas war, a phase of the Russo-Ukrainian War.

In addition to the usual advantage of playing in front of their home fans, a common theory was always that the cold temperatures in Donetsk during the season made it a difficult place for teams to visit, particularly in European competition.

After playing a friendly match in Lyon, France in July 2014, several Shakhtar players, including Brazilian duo Douglas Costa and Fred, refused to return to eastern Ukraine after a Malaysia Airlines flight was shot down by Russian-controlled forces near the city.

Where do Shakhtar play domestic fixtures?

With the conflict escalating, Donbas Arena was closed to the public and hasn’t been used since, with the club forced to relocate to Lviv, over 1,000 kilometres on the opposite site of the country, close to the border with Poland. The club also played matches in Kharkiv in the north east of Ukraine, all the while its headquarters and training facilities were in Kyiv. Since May 2020, they have played domestic home matches at the Olimpiyskiy National Sports Complex in the Ukrainian capital.

Champions League games in Poland and Germany

However, as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Shakhtar had to play on foreign soil to continue taking part in European competitions. In last season’s Champions League, they played their home matches at Stadion Wojska Polskiego, belonging to Polish team Legia Warsaw.

This season, they have moved to Germany and the Volksparkstadion, the home of second division club Hamburg, where they will take on Barcelona on Tuesday.