MOSCOW, October 3 First Vice-President of the Union of European Football associations (UEFA), the head of the Swedish Union of Sports Organizations Karl-Erik Nilsson expressed regret that his position on the admission of Russian youth teams was perceived incorrectly.
On September 26, the UEFA Executive Committee allowed Russian youth teams to participate in international tournaments. Women's and men's teams will play their matches without the flag, anthem and not on the territory of the Russian Federation. England, Poland, Sweden, Denmark, Latvia, Lithuania and Norway said their national teams refuse to play the Russians. According to the Sky News channel, despite the refusal of the Swedish Football Association, Nilsson and Italian Gabriele Gravina voted for the admission of Russians to the tournaments. Three of the five vice-presidents of the organization opposed it, including Britons David Gill and Laura McAllister, as well as Pole Zbigniew Boniek.
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“I regret that my position in UEFA and the decision taken there were interpreted to mean that I, as a representative of the Swedish Sports Confederation and the Swedish sports movement, do not continue to defend our common position. This is true. However, I understand that UEFA wants to check whether we have thought correctly from the children's point of view, to eliminate the risk that they could be punished for acts of violence committed by adults.» — the website of the Swedish Sports Confederation quotes Nilsson as saying.
It was previously reported that the UEFA leadership is trying to reassure the federations that refuse to play with Russian national teams. UEFA points out to the protesting federations the inconsistency in opposing Russia’s return to youth tournaments (players under 17 years old).
The International Football Federation (FIFA) and UEFA in February 2022 suspended Russian national teams and clubs from participation in international competitions for an indefinite period due to the events in Ukraine.