PASSION PLAY IN SHAKHTAR BOSS' APPEAL

Shamrock Rovers v Shakhtar Donetsk Tonight, 8pm

- BY MARK McCADDEN

THIS is no ordinary football match.

This is a former Barcelona player, capped 100 times by Turkey, talking about missiles and drones, and sending a message to Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, Recep Erdogan and Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

It's a team travelling 16 hours for a tie that is about more than just three Europa Conference League points.

"It's a really very important game for fans from Donbass and Ukraine, and we really need to win this game," says midfielder Dmytro Kryskiv, who hails from battle-scarred Kharkiv.

His manager, Arda Turan, who took charge last May, played 55 times for Barcelona during the Lionel Messi era.