Ukrainian FA says Russia return to international football would ‘ignore the suffering of thousands'
The Ukrainian Association of Football (UAF) believes allowing Russia to return to international football would 'ignore the suffering of thousands of Ukrainians' and have called for their suspension to remain in place until the war is over.
Following Russia's illegal, full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, its national teams and domestic clubs were quickly suspended from FIFA and UEFA competitions.
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That ban has remained in place for over three years, but talk about the country's return to the sporting landscape has increased in recent weeks following comments made by U.S. President Donald Trump and Zoran Lakovic, UEFA's director of national associations.
Speaking at the Russian Football Union's (RFU) extraordinary conference earlier this month, Lakovic said he hopes to see the country's return to football before the end of the year.
'Sport should unite, not divide people,' Lakovic said, as reported by Izvestia, a Russian news outlet. 'It should remain completely independent of political influence.
'Unfortunately, in 2025 we do not see this with regard to Russian athletes. I hope that during this year Russian sport will finally return to its former place: the peak of European sport.'
Despite Lakovic's remarks, the UAF has condemned the prospect of Russia's return before a peace deal between the two countries is agreed and the war ends.
'The Ukrainian Association of Football (UAF), as well as the whole Ukrainian Football Community, are grateful to the football governing bodies — the FIFA Council and UEFA Executive Committee — which have suspended all Russian teams since the end of February 2022,' a UAF statement to The Athletic read.
'Since that moment, the UAF keeps doing our best to monitor that this restriction is not violated, as the UAF firmly believes that Russia must not be allowed to participate in the international competitions while its full-scale war against Ukraine continues.
'Sport cannot exist separately from fundamental values such as peace, respect, and fair play.
'Allowing Russia to compete would normalise aggression, undermine the principles upon which international sports are built and would mean ignoring the suffering of thousands of Ukrainians, including members of the football community, who have lost their lives defending our country.'
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After Donald Trump's comments, could Russian football be brought in from the cold?
Even after Lakovic's comments and a failed attempt to allow Russia's Under-17s to compete at the Under-17 European Championship in 2024, UEFA has told The Athletic that the prospect of Russia returning 'has not been raised' within European football's governing body.
To enable Russia's return, a majority of UEFA's Executive Committee (ExCo) would need to vote in favour of it happening.
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An existing member of the ExCo is Aleksandr Dyukov, the president of the RFU and chairman of Russian oil company Gazprom Neft, a subsidiary of the state-owned Gazprom. Despite saying he planned to run for re-election at April's UEFA congress in Belgrade, Serbia, Dyukov's name was not on the list of candidates released by UEFA earlier this week.
Andriy Shevchenko, the UAF's president, is one of the five candidates standing for election.
Asked whether their players would refuse to play against Russian opponents if they return to international football before the war is over, the UAF said they 'fully support the right of players to stand by their principles in this matter'.
'Russian teams and clubs are suspended from the international competitions, however Russian players play in the foreign clubs and sometimes our players can face them during the UEFA competitions,' the UAF added.
'Ukrainian players definitely play the role of the ambassadors of our country and given the ongoing war and its tragic impact on Ukrainian society, including the football community, it is understandable that our players refuse to shake hands with Russian players.
'For Ukrainian footballers, this is not just a sporting issue but a deeply personal and moral one. Many players have friends, family members, or colleagues who have been affected by the war.'
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