After almost nine years of uncertainty, Crimean clubs have received a signal about readiness to join the system of Russian football. Yalta «Rubin» and «Sevastopol» received certificates of the Football National League (FNL) and can participate in the Second League championship. Against the background of these news, the Ukrainian Football Association (UAF) sent a letter to the International Football Federation (FIFA) and the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) demanding the removal of the Russian Football Union (RFU). What will be the reaction of Gianni Infantino and Aleksander Čeferin to the appeals? The correspondent tried to understand the situation.
To begin with, it is worth noting the obvious — the situation with the suspension from tournaments remains difficult for Russia. Encouraging hints from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) are immediately drowned out by the harsh tone of the head of the organization, Thomas Bach. All this is reinforced by the extension of sanctions from international federations. For football, the future is also bleak, although at the last RFU conference the representatives of FIFA and UEFA looked enthusiastic. Our officials reacted fairly: words are good, but where are the deeds?
I do not want to think pessimistically, but the issue of the removal of Russian teams and clubs is unlikely to be resolved in the near future. FIFA and UEFA, along with almost all international sports actors, are stuck in a gray area. Wherever you throw, everywhere is a wedge. All these bodies do not want to choose between bad and very bad, so it is easier to «feed» Russia and Ukraine with promises and give hope for a change in the situation «from above.» A purely image story with the inclusion of Ukraine in the 2030 World Cup squad, and the words about «everyone expecting the appearance of Russians at international matches» can serve as a striking consequence.
Should FIFA and UEFA be blamed for such a position? I doubt. The radical step taken earlier will be almost impossible to correct. Exclude Russia from the European association? So she will go to Asia, which has a dynamically developing football market. It is unlikely that UEFA wants to strengthen its competitor in the face of the Asian Football Confederation. Bring Russia back? This will entail unpredictable consequences in the form of a boycott of the same Euro 2024, the exit of a number of federations and demands to remove the short-sighted leadership. All these ambiguities lead to a wait-and-see attitude. Only such a delay cannot last forever. Russia has already missed the play-offs for the World Cup in Qatar, qualifying for the Euro, and the performance of domestic clubs in the UEFA coefficients table has fallen below the plinth.
The Ukrainian Football Association also does not sit aside and does quite expected things that fit into the outline of the country's general policy. Obviously, they would not disregard the beginning of the full integration of Crimea into Russian football. But something tells us that in Kyiv, as well as in Moscow, as in Zurich, they understand the futility of these statements. Another indication of their position, nothing more.
Therefore, FIFA and UEFA will not do anything with the letter from their Ukrainian colleagues. At best, they will refer to previously published statements about the removal of Russia from tournaments «until further notice.» The method has been used for a year and a half. We should not expect serious progress in the near future.
Once again, we can see that in football, as in all world sports, the principle of «sport outside of politics» has long ceased to operate. The main sports organizations are only repeaters of the opinion of the authorities of one side or another. And until diplomacy of the highest rank takes over, there is no talk of any lifting of sanctions against Russia or, on the contrary, the complete exclusion of the RFU from FIFA and UEFA.
The opinion of the author may not coincide with the position of the editors.