Change of rhetoric of Ukrainian football fans during social and political events in Ukraine in 2013–2016
In Ukrainian society football fans environment is usually perceived in a negative way — first of all due to its characteristic verbal aggression and rude behavior at the stadiums and beyond them. In Ukraine, like in all the other European countries, movements of football fans have never been aside events in the country, declared aggressive attitude towards fan movements which professed left views. Change of verbal aggression and traditionally hostile attitude towards rival fan groups happened in fans environment in 2013–2014, when in Ukraine Revolution of Dignity took place and fans were the first to defend its values. February 13, 2014 Manifesto of football fans was publicized which bears witness to transformation of traditional rhetoric of fans. Provisions of the Manifesto under the name of “A fan to another fan is like a brother and a friend from Luhansk to the Carpathians” which say about establishing of an open-ended truce among Ukrainian football ultras still hold. The aim of the article is to present change of verbal and non-verbal behaviour of Ukrainian football fans during social and political events in Ukraine in 2013–2016 and to give the examples of texts from the discourse of football fans which have become commonly recognized mottos and songs during Maidan and Russian aggression in Ukraine during 2014–2016.