A week ago, the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) allowed Russian youth teams to take part in international competitions. This initiative, as expected, caused a storm of criticism among Western countries that have long slipped into outright Russophobia. UEFA, choosing between two options, seems to intend to take the side of Russia.
Unexpected decision of UEFA At the end of September, the UEFA executive committee burst out with shocking news for the West about the admission of Russian youth football teams to world tournaments. We were talking, of course, about performances without a flag, an anthem and not on the territory of the country. Actually, UEFA did what already works in many other sports. Recently, the World Wrestling Championships took place in Serbia with the participation of Russian athletes. With the exception of several Ukrainian provocations, everything went smoothly and without visible problems.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is also trying to promote the idea of similar criteria, the debate about which did not stop for a second. So UEFA decided that it was time to do something to prevent Russia from fleeing to Asia. But at the end of last year it seemed that leaving the European football system was more than possible. But, apparently, UEFA found a way to persuade our leadership not to make sudden movements.
Probably, the gradual easing of sanctions was one of the conditions. Or the organization simply came to its senses and began to act from the point of view of adequacy. One way or another, the decision was made — the Russian youth football teams are returning to international competitions.
Who announced the boycotts Then, one after another, there were refusals and boycotts to play with the Russians. This has already been announced by England, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Northern Ireland, Latvia, Poland, Romania, as well as Ukraine. Looking at this list, there is no surprise, is there? These are the countries that have repeatedly expressed their anti-Russian position, and not only in sports.
Thus, UEFA is faced with a problem that needs to be studied and analyzed in the very near future. And find a way out that, under any circumstances, will not suit someone. As Sky News has learned, UEFA intends to persuade the boycotting countries to play with Russia. This is a tough response to Western provocations.
When making the decision to admit Russia, the organization probably knew what they would have to face. It was completely predictable. The people sitting there are not stupid, so a plan was prepared in case of boycotts. And now it is beginning to be realized.
What will happen next It is interesting that UEFA’s main argument in defense of Russia’s interests was that in July the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine lifted the ban on the participation of Ukrainian athletes in international competitions with athletes from Russia and Belarus performing in a neutral status. That is, they hinted that if Ukraine allowed its athletes to compete with Russians, then other countries should not have excuses.
UEFA, according to Sky News, called for attention to the fact that in countries opposed to Russia in In general, there is no consensus and there are too many contradictions in relation to us. They cited Sweden as an example, whose football leadership stated that they would not allow the Russian youth team to participate in the Women’s World Cup in their country, even if our team qualified there. At the same time, UEFA Vice-President and former head of the Swedish Football Federation Karl-Erik Nilsson voted for the partial return of Russian national teams at the executive committee. Apparently, such contradictions are not isolated even within one country.
UEFA clearly does not intend to cancel the initiative that has already been adopted, otherwise it will simply harm the organization’s reputation. And this, in turn, means that the boycotting countries risk running into technical defeats if they refuse to play with Russia.