| Dates: 18-19 March Matches: Saturday – Manchester City v Burnley (17:45 GMT); Sunday – Sheffield United v Blackburn (12:00); Brighton v Grimsby (14:15); Manchester United v Fulham (16:30). Click here for full BBC coverage details. |
“I woke up to the sound of explosions and sirens,” says Manor Solomon. “It was like being in a middle of a movie.”
The Fulham and Israel winger is describing the events of 24 February 2022 when, as a player at Shakhtar Donetsk, he was living in Kyiv on the day Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
“Everyone was panicking because the war had started and didn’t know what to do,” Solomon, 23, tells BBC Sport. “I knew I had to get away because it was going to get worse.”
Solomon quickly packed his belongings into suitcases and eventually made it to the border of Poland after a stressful car journey lasting 17 hours but then had to wait more than 10 hours in freezing temperatures before being “rescued” and taken back home to Israel.
“I was running out of food and water. There was nothing to buy,” he adds. “I managed to cross the border with the help of Israeli diplomats. If they hadn’t come I don’t know what would have happened to me.”
Thirteen months on, Solomon is preparing to face Manchester United in the FA Cup knowing a Fulham victory at Old Trafford on Sunday (16:30 GMT) will send the Cottagers to Wembley for next month’s semi-finals.
Meanwhile, the war in Ukraine goes on.
“My heart goes out to the people who are still there,” says Solomon. “Last year was the most difficult of my life.”
‘Nothing to fear – then war broke out’
Solomon had been at Shakhtar three years and was making a name for himself when Russia’s full-scale invasion began.
At the age of 20, he scored his first Champions League goal – a 95th-minute winner against Atalanta at the San Siro in 2019.
Solomon, signed by Shakhtar from Maccabi Petah Tikva, got the decisive third goal in a 3-2 win at Real Madrid in October 2020 and followed that up two months later by scoring another against the record 14-time champions of Europe in a memorable 2-0 victory in Kyiv.
“I was 19 when I moved there [Ukraine],” he adds. “I wanted to leave Israel, develop as a player and play in big European matches.”
Life in the ancient city of Kyiv was exciting. Solomon was joined by his partner Dana and he got on well with his team-mates, winning the Ukrainian Premier League twice.
In January 2022, stories about a possible invasion were increasing. It was around this time Dana returned to Israel while her partner flew to Turkey with Shakhtar for warm-weather training during the Ukrainian Premier League’s winter break.
“They [the club] told us we had nothing to fear and that nothing was going to happen even though we were concerned,” says Solomon.
“When I returned to Kyiv from Turkey we decided to wait a few days to see what happened before making a decision about Dana returning.
“Then war broke out.”
‘I was lucky to get out’
Solomon knew he had to get out of Kyiv – and Ukraine – quickly and was driven by car to the border of Poland.
“All of my family and friends were terrified,” he says.
Highways out of Kyiv were blocked by thousands of cars trying to get away from the Russian advance, and the player recalls “crazy traffic jams” along with the “panic of people running away” with “gas stations blown up”.
At the border, Solomon witnessed chaotic scenes.
Writing on social media at the time, he added: “After more than 15 hours of hard driving, the driver dropped me off near the border with Poland in the hope that I would be able to pass (young Ukrainian men are not allowed to leave the country).
“At the border there was great chaos and tens of thousands of people, women and men with families and crying babies standing with suitcases in freezing cold, with great uncertainty.
“When I saw that the queues were not progressing and that I was stuck in place, I realised that nothing depended on me and I was just waiting for an Israeli rescue vehicle that might be able to rescue me.
“After more than 10 hours of queuing with suitcases in a crowd of people, the phone call I was waiting for came. To my joy I got into a car that had another Israeli family that had been evacuated and together we crossed the border.”
Speaking to BBC Sport, Solomon adds: “I feel lucky I got out.”
‘Ukraine in my thoughts’
Solomon joined Fulham in July 2022 on a temporary one-year deal from Shakhtar Donetsk. He moved to London after exercising a Fifa rule that allowed Ukraine-based players, who are not Ukrainian nationals, to suspend their contracts.
“I want to send a big hug to my friends and supporters in Ukraine,” he said after joining Fulham. “You are in my thoughts.”
But life in London has had its own challenges.
After one appearance last August, Solomon suffered a serious knee injury which required surgery and ruled him out for five months.
“It was not an easy time,” he adds. “I was in a new country at a new club with a bad injury.”
Using the mental toughness drilled into him during a stint of mandatory military service in Israel – when he learned to use a rifle at the age of 18 – Solomon made a full recovery and has since made up for lost time.
The player, who lists former Liverpool and Israel midfielder Yossi Benayoun as one of his inspirations – scored five goals in five Fulham appearances between 11 February and 6 March.
He feels he has more to offer club and country and wants to propel Israel to a first European Championship when qualifying for Euro 2024 starts against Kosovo in Tel Aviv on 25 March.
Before that he faces Manchester United knowing a win will send Fulham into the semi-finals of the FA Cup – to be staged at Wembley on the weekend 22-23 April – for the first time since 2001-02.
“Playing for Fulham at Wembley would be a dream,” says Solomon.
