Čeferin is under significant pressure from both national federations and fellow governing body members
It is reported that the question of admission of Russian U-17 national teams to official international competitions can be raised again at the next meeting UEFA Executive Committeewhich will take place this coming Tuesday, October 10th.
According to authoritative sources, the head of the Union of European Football Associations, Aleksandar Čeferin, is under serious pressure due to the unpopular decision.
Firstly, this move caused a split within the governing body itself. Thus, the vice-president of the union, Karl-Erik Nilsson, resigned from his post as head of the Swedish Sports Confederation. It is reported that the “Russian issue” itself was strangely presented by the President at the previous Executive Committee – in the “Other” section, without prior notice.
Secondly, the admission of teams from the aggressor country with the wording “children should not be punished for actions for which adults are responsible” caused widespread condemnation from many UEFA associate members.
All this together allows us to assume that the “Russian decision” will be reviewed at the next Executive Committee of the European Confederation.
Let us recall the chronology of events. First, UEFA allowed Russian U-17 national teams (boys and girls) to participate in international competitions during the 2023/24 season. The union upheld the disqualification of the remaining Russian teams.
On October 4, FIFA, guided by this decision, lifted the ban on participation for the mentioned teams representing the aggressor state.
The Ukrainian Football Association immediately condemned UEFA’s decision to return Russian youth teams (U-17) to the international arena under a neutral flag and refused to participate in matches with Russian teams.
In recent days, England, Latvia, Poland, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Lithuania, Norway, Ireland and Romania have joined the boycott of matches with any teams from Russia, despite FIFA approval. Subsequently, the UAF appealed to all member associations to join the boycott.
Following this, the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine appealed to FIFA and UEFA to cancel the scandalous decision.
In the early hours of February 24, Russia launched rocket and air strikes on most Ukrainian cities and then launched a full-scale military invasion. The Russian war against Ukraine has continued for the 592nd day.
Source: Sportarena
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