UEFA reacted to Ukraine’s demand to exclude the RFU from the organization

The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) reported that clubs from Crimea, by decision of the organization, are forbidden to take part in competitions under the auspices of the Russian Football Union (RFU). This is how UEFA commented on the demand of the Ukrainian Football Association (UAF) to exclude the RFU from its ranks.

“In accordance with the decision of the UEFA emergency committee dated August 22, 2014, the executive committee decided to ban Crimean clubs from participating in competitions organized by the RFU from January 1, 2015, and also to consider this region a “special zone” for football purposes until further notice”, – reported TASS UEFA representatives.

Former National Football League (FNL) management decided to include in its composition the football clubs “Sevastopol” and Yalta “Rubin”. The league noted its readiness to include the Crimean teams “Tavria” (Simferopol) and “Ocean” (Kerch) into the second league. Shortly thereafter, the Ukrainian Football Association sent an appeal to the International Football Federation (FIFA) and the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) with call to exclude the Russian Football Union from associations due to the admission of Crimean clubs.

In the spring of 2022, shortly after the start of the Russian military operation in Ukraine, FIFA and UEFA suspended Russian teams from participating in tournaments. An attempt by the RFU to challenge these decisions in the Court of Arbitration for Sport was unsuccessful. In September, UEFA did not allow the Russian team to the draw for the qualifying tournament of the European Championship-2024. No decision has yet been made on the 2026 World Championship.

Alexander Kislov