The decision of the leadership of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) to soften sanctions on Russian football caused the expected outrage in Europe. After Russian teams under 17 years of age were admitted to international tournaments, several countries announced a boycott of matches against our athletes — the Sport correspondent notes with alarm that the action may force functionaries in Nyon to change their minds.
Russia seems to be meeting halfway. The day before, the UEFA executive committee revised the sanctions dated February 2022 in relation to domestic football and allowed Russian teams of minor players (under 17 years old) to participate in international tournaments. UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin called it discrimination to prohibit children from participating in competitions and explained his decision as a contribution to a “brighter and more capable future generation.”
True, not everything is so simple: our teams will play matches without a flag, anthem, or national symbols on their uniforms and not on Russian territory (the “adults” will return to the international arena only after the end of the conflict in Ukraine). Well, domestic athletes are no strangers to such conditions.
But the West declares a boycott The expected reaction of European countries to UEFA's updated position on Russia was not long in coming. If you thought that politics wouldn’t touch the squabbles of young football players on the green lawn, then don’t be so naive — at the time of writing, six countries have already publicly issued an ultimatum:
- England. The Times, citing a corresponding statement from the Football Association of England (FA), wrote that English juniors will not play with their peers from Russia;
- Ukraine. The Ukrainian Football Association (UAF) insists on maintaining the previous decisions of UEFA and the International Football Federation (FIFA) and once again assures that it will not participate in any competitions involving Russia. The UAF also called on other UEFA member associations to boycott possible matches involving our teams;
- Poland. President of the Polish Football Association (PZPN) Cezary Kulesza admitted that he was surprised by yesterday's statement by the UEFA executive committee. He made it clear: if the Russian teams are allowed to play, the Poles will not compete with them. According to the head of PZPN, “this is the only correct decision”;
- Latvia. The Latvian Football Federation warns that national teams of all levels will not play against the Russians, “regardless of the venue of such games or the form of presentation of Russian athletes.” The organization believes that UEFA's policy contradicts the «firm position in support of Ukraine»;
- Swedenand Denmark. The chairman of the Swedish Football Association, Fredrik Reinfeldt, confirmed to the Expressen newspaper that there are no intentions to meet with Russian national teams. The head of the communications department of the Danish Football Union (DBU), Jakob Hoyer, shares the same opinion.
The situation for Russian athletes is extremely unpleasant. Because it repeats, like a carbon copy, the events that unfolded in the football arena after the start of the SVO.
Qatari flashbacks Let us recall that at the end of February 2022, FIFA and UEFA suspended Russian national teams and clubs from participation in all international competitions for an indefinite period. However, FIFA initially announced that due to the situation in Ukraine, the Russian national team would continue to compete, but home matches would be played on a neutral field and without spectators, and also imposed a ban on the use of the Russian flag and anthem in international matches. This is where the football federations of Poland, the Czech Republic and Sweden played their role, refusing to meet with Valery Karpin’s guys in the selection for the 2022 World Cup.
What does these three countries have to do with it? All of them were rivals of the Russians in a play-off mini-tournament for one ticket to the final part of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. In the first semi-final, ours had to play with the Poles, in the second — the Swedes with the Czechs.
As we can see, it was not at all difficult to “push” FIFA. We will soon find out whether it will be possible to force UEFA to “change its shoes” — the selection for the European Championship among players under 17 years of age begins today. The final stage of the 2024 European Championship will take place from May 20 to June 5, 2024 in Cyprus.
The author’s opinion may not coincide with the position of the editors.