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Ukraine is gathering support from European governments to oppose FIFA's decision to end Russia's ban from international football. Ukrainian Sports Minister Matvii Bidnyi told Sky News that allowing Russia to return to World Cups would legitimize Vladimir Putin's aggression.
European football leaders are gathering in Brussels today for their annual congress, four years after they banned Russian teams at the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. FIFA President Gianni Infantino will attend the UEFA Congress a week after telling Sky News that the ban had achieved nothing but had only created more frustration and hatred.
Responding to the football boss, the Ukrainian Minister of Sports called this stance strange, as nothing has changed since the exclusion was imposed.
“It’s a very strange stance… nothing has changed. This condemnation of the whole world, of the sports community, is very important for international pressure on the aggressor. If we start to make our policy softer… what signal do we give to the world? The ban is an important part of the international efforts to stop the aggressor… it is a crime and you want to justify it, you want to legitimize this crime ,” she said.
Although Russia's ban from participating in World Cups is a symbol of the country's isolation and excluded status, it has not ended the conflict and killings.
Bidnyi wants a declaration to be adopted opposing the lifting of football sanctions on Russia, as was secured last year by 28 European governments, including the United Kingdom, calling on the Paralympics to reinstate their ban.
"I think we're close to that and I think it would have a huge impact ," he told Sky News.
The ban was imposed because European rivals refused to play against Russian teams or hold their matches on neutral grounds, as FIFA and UEFA came under pressure from politicians to apply sporting sanctions.
There are discussions within FIFA about why ties with Russia should be severed, when governments that support the ban on teams still allow trade with the country for non-sanctioned products.
The UK's Culture Secretary, Lisa Nandy, last week criticised the International Olympic Committee and FIFA for moves towards the return of Russian teams, arguing that "if anything, the situation in Ukraine has worsened" since the initial bans were imposed.
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