Russian football clubs secure €10.8m in Uefa ‘solidarity' funds since Ukraine invasion
The payments were made despite five Ukrainian clubs failing to receive similar such funds allegedly due to their locations being in a 'zone of military operations'.
Solidarity payments are generally provided to clubs that fail to do well enough at the domestic level to get into European competitions. They are designed to 'maintain competitive balance in Europe's top divisions in light of the additional revenue some clubs receive through participation in European competitions', according to Uefa.
Russian clubs and the country's national team have been banned from taking part in international competitions since Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Despite the ban, Uefa paid €3,305,000 in solidarity payments to the Russian football association in 2022-23, a further €3,381,000 in 2023-24, and €4,224,000 for the 2024-25 season.
There was also a payment of €6,209,000 in 2021-22, according to Uefa circulars. The football association is obliged to pass on the money to the clubs.
At the same time, the directors of five Ukrainian clubs wrote to the president of Uefa, Aleksander Čeferin, a Slovenian lawyer, on 27 July to complain of an 'extraordinary situation' in which their 'solidarity' payments for 2023-24 and 2024-25 were withheld.
The affected teams are Chornomorets and Real Pharma, which are based in Odesa; IFC Metalurg from Zaporizhzhia; FSC Phoenix Mariupol from the occupied southern port city; and FC Metalist 1925 from Kharkiv.
The clubs' directors wrote: 'As a result of our communication with both the national association and Uefa officials we have been informed that the obstacle to the above payments is some completely unclear requirements of a bank in Switzerland, which allegedly relate to the geographical location of the football clubs in the 'war zone'.
'We have not received any more detailed information or any legal justification for these restrictions on payments. The wording used in relation to the 'zone of military operations' is completely unclear to us and does not correspond to reality.
'The zone of military operations, or rather the zone of military aggression of Russia, is not a specific region of our country, but the whole of Ukraine.'
The port city of Mariupol and parts of the Zaporizhzhia region in south-east Ukraine are occupied but that is not the case for Odesa, in the south, nor Kharkiv in the north-east.
The letter to Čeferin continues: 'Many loyal Ukrainian football fans went to the front from the first days of the aggressions, many of them will unfortunately never be able to support their teams at the stadium, having died with the names of their favourite people and the name of their favourite team on their lips.
'Therefore in this difficult time for our country, any additional financial assistance and support will certainly help the clubs to ease the burden of financial expenses which, as mentioned above, due to the circumstances of military aggression cannot be balanced by possible revenues.'
A spokesperson for Uefa initially said they would provide a statement to explain the payments but then failed to offer any response.
Sign up to Headlines Europe
A digest of the morning's main headlines from the Europe edition emailed direct to you every week day
after newsletter promotion
The revelation will raise fresh concern about Uefa's approach to the Kremlin.
Russia has retained its presence within Uefa because its federation, the Russian Football Union, has not been suspended.
Polina Yumasheva, the former wife of the Kremlin's 'favourite industrialist', the billionaire oligarch Oleg Deripaska, sits on Uefa's governance and compliance committee. She is the daughter of a former adviser to Putin.
In September 2022, Ukraine's manager Oleksandr Petrakov was fined by Uefa after he vowed in an interview with the Guardian to take up arms against Russia after its invasion of his country.
Uefa also attempted to reintroduce Russia's under-17s team to international football in 2023 but the proposal was withdrawn after a dozen national associations, including England's, publicly expressed their opposition.
In a letter to Uefa last March, the executive committee of the Ukrainian football association complained that Russian clubs were being given Uefa ranking points in each season that they are suspended.
The total number of points earned by a country in a season determines how many teams in their domestic game will take part in European tournaments, including the Champions League.
The number of points given to Russia equates to the lowest that Russian teams have earned in the last five seasons, but critics have argued that it undermines the impact of the international suspension.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
10 minutes ago
- BBC News
Hojlund's Milan hopes fade as Boniface nears loan move
Bayer Leverkusen striker Victor Boniface is on the brink of completing a loan move to AC Milan that could end Rasmus Hojlund's chances of joining the Serie A had been keen to sign Hojlund on loan from Manchester the Denmark forward, 22, has stalled on a deal because the structure being negotiated did not include an obligation to have now moved for Boniface with a similar deal, but it is only set to contain an option to turn the move for the Nigerian into a permanent transfer next are also on the hunt for a number nine after Romelu Lukaku suffered a thigh injury that could rule him out for up to four this month, Hojlund declared his intention to remain at United after an inconsistent first couple of seasons. Since then, his club has signed Slovenia international Benjamin Sesko in a £73.7m deal. Hojlund was then left on the bench throughout United's final pre-season match against Fiorentina, then was omitted from Ruben Amorim's squad completely for the Premier League defeat by said he had taken the decision because Hojlund "had similar characteristics" to Sesko, who made his debut against the Gunners as a substitute.
The Independent
12 minutes ago
- The Independent
UK military chief meets US counterparts for Ukraine talks
The head of Britain's armed forces has met with his Nato counterparts as Europe continues to push for security guarantees for Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire. Admiral Sir Tony Radakin met senior US defence officials alongside other European military chiefs in Washington DC on Wednesday to discuss military options to secure peace in Ukraine. He later attended a virtual meeting of Nato's military committee, described by its chairman Italian Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone as 'candid'. On Tuesday evening, Admiral Radakin, the chief of the defence staff, had dined with his US counterpart General Dan Caine. The meetings come amid renewed planning for a 'coalition of the willing', led by the UK and France, that would guarantee Kyiv's security in the event of a ceasefire. Earlier in the week, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron co-chaired a meeting of the coalition, in which members of the group also discussed the possibility of further sanctions on Russia. Western security guarantees, strongly resisted by Moscow, are one of the central issues for any peace deal for Ukraine, which fears Russia could otherwise use a ceasefire to regroup and launch a renewed invasion. So far, only the UK and France have indicated they could commit troops to a peacekeeping force in Ukraine. In an interview on Tuesday Donald Trump ruled out an American ground contribution but suggested the US could be willing to provide some form of air support. His special envoy, Steve Witkoff, had earlier suggested the US could offer Ukraine a mutual defence agreement similar to Nato's Article 5, without Kyiv formally joining the alliance. Renewed talks among the 'coalition of the willing' follow last week's summit between Mr Trump and Vladimir Putin in Alaska as the US president continued to push for an end to a conflict he had promised he could finish on his first day in office. Those talks appeared to result in little progress towards a deal, but sparked concern among some in Europe that Mr Trump could seek to pressure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky into accepting a deal without sufficient security guarantees. On Monday, Sir Keir and Mr Macron joined other European leaders in travelling to Washington in a show of support for Mr Zelensky during a meeting with Mr Trump. Meanwhile, the UK and Russia traded sanctions as London sought to increase the pressure on Moscow to end its invasion. Europe minister Stephen Doughty unveiled sanctions on a series of organisations linked to Kyrgyzstan's financial services sector, saying they had been involved in Kremlin attempts to 'soften the blow of our sanctions by laundering transactions through dodgy crypto networks'. Russia in turn sanctioned 21 individuals, including former Labour MP Denis MacShane, several journalists, and the Government-appointed independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, Jonathan Hall.
The Independent
12 minutes ago
- The Independent
Arsenal reignite interest in Eberechi Eze after Kai Havertz injury setback
Arsenal have reignited their interest in Crystal Palace 's Eberechi Eze after Kai Havertz picked up a knee injury and faces a spell on the sidelines. The Gunners were keen on Eze earlier in the window but Tottenham moved ahead of them to negotiate a deal in the region of £55m plus add-ons. Spurs have had days of negotiations, which have at times been 'difficult', with Palace but are yet to finalise a deal giving Arsenal the belief they can hijack the transfer at the last minute. The extent of Havertz's injury is being assessed but Arsenal would want enough cover in the forward areas with Gabriel Jesus still out until at least November. Arsenal also have players available in positions coveted by Palace, such as Jakub Kiwior, but any suggestion of potential swaps would need to be made in a deal separate to the one for Eze. Negotiations are moving quickly and the principle of a deal with Palace is already in place for Arsenal, with that believed to be similar to the approximate £60m package offered by Spurs but including faster payment terms. In their dealings with Tottenham, Palace have asked for more of the eventual fee paid up front to ensure they can secure a replacement for Eze. They also want to get that player in place before releasing the 27-year-old. For Arsenal, the view from numerous sources was that they preferred is to sell players first before committing to a purchase and then being under pressure to sell before the end of the window. Havertz's injury has potentially changed that and the Gunners feel confident they can convince Eze to choose them over Tottenham having long been rumoured to be the winger's first preference for a move.
