The Russian Federation was excluded from all club and international competitions under the auspices of UEFA and FIFA in 2022 after a full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. However, in an interview published on February 2, Infantino opined that “this ban did nothing” and “generated even more disappointment and hatred.” When asked whether FIFA should lift the ban on Russian teams participating, he replied: “Oh, absolutely. We should. At least at the youth level.”
During a meeting with Infantino, Shevchenko informed the FIFA President of the difficult situation in Ukraine due to the military aggression of the Russian Federation and emphasized the inadmissibility of any attempts to soften the ban for Russians, the UAF said.
They noted that Shevchenko also discussed Ukraine’s position on preventing the return of Russian teams to international tournaments with Mikalef, who had previously publicly opposed the ideas of lifting restrictions for the Russian Federation.
“At the UEFA Congress in Brussels, no questions regarding the return of Russians were considered,” the UAF said in a statement.
On the same day, February 12, UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin said that the position of the Union of European Football Associations on the ban for Russia has not changed.
Context
On 28 February 2022, FIFA and UEFA decided that all Russian teams, whether national or club, would be suspended from participating in FIFA and UEFA competitions. This decision by the governing bodies was a consequence of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, which began on February 24, 2022.
However, on September 26, 2023, the UEFA executive committee will allow Russian representative youth teams to participate in competitions at the U17 girls and boys level.
Reacting to this, the UAF stated that Ukrainian teams would not participate in competitions to which Russian teams would be allowed, and called on the international sports community to boycott the Russians. The boycott was supported by a number of European countries.
On October 4, the FIFA Council approved the extension of the UEFA committee's decision to the U17 World Cup and the U17 Women's World Cup.
On October 10, UEFA refused to allow the youth (U17) team of the aggressor country Russia to participate in the 2024 European Championship. The media reported that the decision taken by the football union on September 26 “provoked a split in the UEFA executive committee.” Thus, at least 12 of the 55 European member federations stated that their teams do not intend to play Russian teams.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, commenting on Infantino’s statements, stated on February 2, 2026 that the Russian Federation continues to kill Ukrainians “even more, while moral degenerates propose to lift the prohibitions” for her.
