Ukraine demands removal of the RFU

Ukraine is trying to prevent the integration into domestic football of clubs representing Crimea, as well as territories annexed to Russia during a military special operation, about which Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko informed Russian President Vladimir Putin in October. The Ukrainian Football Association (UFA) has decided to send an appeal to both the International Football Federation (FIFA) and the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) with a request to deprive the Russian Football Union (RFU) of membership in the head structures if the plans are implemented.

The Ukrainian Football Association has published the decisions taken at the meeting of its executive committee. The main one concerns Russia. The UFA has confirmed that it will send an appeal to both the International Football Federation and the Union of European Football Associations demanding that “urgent measures” be taken against the Russian Football Union in connection with “actions to integrate into Russian competitions and the structure of the RFU” clubs and federations representing Crimea, as well as territories that were previously part of Ukraine, annexed to Russia this fall following a series of referendums. The initiators of the appeal insist on the application to the RFU by the head football structures of the sanction in the form of “deprivation of membership” in them.

The reason for the emergence of such requirements was the events that took place last week. At the October 24 meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko, who oversees the sports industry, announced that the Russian government had agreed with the RFU on the integration of the Lugansk and Donetsk People’s Republics, Kherson and Zaporozhye regions into the national football championships. In addition, the Governor of Sevastopol, Mikhail Razvozhaev, said that Sevastopol and Crimean football clubs will be able to participate in the competitions of the Football National League (FNL), which unites divisions following the Russian Premier League (RPL), from 2023, that is, from next season, and the question of the entry of local football federations into the RFU is under study. Almost simultaneously, it became known that FNL President Nail Izmailov held a meeting in Crimea with the President of the Crimean Football Union (CFU) Sergey Borodkin, and the issues of integrating the region into the Russian football system were also discussed at it.

If it weren’t for the context, which is its already almost complete international isolation (the Russian team and clubs suspended from playing in official competitions for an indefinite period), the topic of such integration could turn into an extremely acute one.

In fact, it is already approximately clear what position FIFA and UEFA, which have so far not commented on the Ukrainian demands, will adhere to. precedent in this case is their position on the issue of the situation of the CFU and Crimean football in general and its relations with Russian football, which became relevant back in 2014, immediately after the annexation of Crimea to Russia. For some time, the RFU tried to “attach” the clubs of the peninsula to their tournaments, but faced resistance from two organizations. Its consequence was the exclusion from the third-ranking division of the Russian championship of three Crimean clubs already included in it – the Sevastopol SKCHF, the Simferopol TSK and the Yalta Zhemchuzhina – and the Crimea receiving the status of a “special zone”. It meant, first of all, that the RFU has no right to organize tournaments on the territory of Crimea without the consent of UEFA, FIFA and UFA. What sanctions are provided for failure to comply with the requirements, the international football leaders did not specify. FIFA President Gianni Infantino, who during the development of decisions on the “Crimean issue” worked as UEFA Secretary General, only emphasized that a “disciplinary case” would be initiated against the violator of the regime. Theoretically, such cases can even result in disqualification. At the same time, the RFU, despite the complaints of the Crimean representatives, who were annoyed about the fact that they had to exist in a “special zone”, playing a local championship, preferred not to violate the regime.

A Kommersant source in one of the international football structures said that if FIFA and UEFA “are really interested in the Ukrainian appeal,” sanctions against the RFU are “quite possible.”

He called the “probable option” a temporary suspension of the RFU membership, an unpleasant practical consequence of which could be, for example, clubs’ problems if foreign players break contracts with them unilaterally: they will have nowhere to turn to resolve the dispute and obtain compensation.

Alexey Dospekhov