Ukraine sports minister slams Fifa president’s comments on Russia football ban

Ukraine’s sports minister has sharply criticised Fifa president Gianni Infantino after he suggested world football’s governing body could revisit its ban on Russia, calling the comments “irresponsible” and “infantile” while the war in Ukraine continues, Sport360NG reports.

Russian national teams and clubs were suspended from international competition by Fifa and Uefa in February 2022 following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The ban has ruled the country out of the 2022 World Cup, Euro 2024 and the 2026 World Cup.

Speaking recently, Infantino questioned the effectiveness of the sanctions, arguing that “this ban has not achieved anything” and had instead “created more frustration and hatred”. He suggested that allowing Russian children to play football in other parts of Europe could have a positive impact.

Those remarks prompted a strong response from Ukraine’s sports minister, Matvii Bidnyi, who said they ignored the human cost of the conflict.

“Gianni Infantino’s words sound irresponsible, not to say infantile,” Bidnyi wrote on social media. “They detach football from the reality in which children are being killed.”

Bidnyi said more than 650 Ukrainian athletes and coaches have been killed since the start of the invasion, including over 100 footballers. “War is a crime, not politics,” he added. “It is Russia that politicises sport and uses it to justify aggression.”

He also reiterated the stance of the Ukrainian Association of Football, which opposes any move to reinstate Russia while the war continues. “As long as Russians continue killing Ukrainians and politicising sport, their flag and national symbols have no place among people who respect values such as justice, integrity and fair play,” Bidnyi said.

Infantino was awarded Russia’s Order of Friendship by President Vladimir Putin after the country hosted the 2018 World Cup, a point that has drawn renewed attention amid the debate.

Although barred from Fifa and Uefa competitions, Russia has continued to play a limited number of international matches against non-Western nations without formal approval from football’s governing bodies.

Ukraine has previously voiced similar objections beyond football. Last year, it condemned the International Paralympic Committee’s decision to lift a ban on athletes from Russia and Belarus, with Ukraine’s Paralympic committee accusing the IPC of allowing the two countries to “raise their flags, drenched in blood”.

Despite that decision, Russian and Belarusian athletes will not compete at next month’s Winter Paralympics in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo. While the IPC oversees the Games, separate governing bodies run the six sports involved, with three maintaining bans on athletes from both countries. Ice hockey authorities have since allowed their participation, but the ruling came too late for qualification.