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The fall-out from Uefa\u2019s plans to reinstate Russian underage teams to European competition is causing a huge split within the governing body, putting president Aleksander Ceferin under immense pressure to \u201crevisit\u201d the issue at this week\u2019s Executive Committee meeting.<\/p>\n
The controversy has already caused the confederation vice-president Karl-Erik Nilsson to resign as boss of the Swedish Sports Confederation and led Denmark to become the latest association to say they will not play Russian sides to go with England, Ireland and Ukraine. <\/p>\n
The Independent<\/em> has been told that there is tension within some national associations that didn\u2019t immediately reject the idea out of hand.<\/p>\n There is similarly huge dissatisfaction among other federations for the manner in which the issue was raised by Uefa at the last meeting, with Ceferin simply bringing it up under \u201cany other business\u201d \u2013 according to one source \u2013 with \u201cno prior notice\u201d. There was huge surprise at this, and it has been viewed with the context of Fifa\u2019s decision to do the same.<\/p>\n That has caused Uefa to bring it onto the agenda for Tuesday\u2019s ExCo meeting, where it will also be confirmed that Euro 2028 is going to the United Kingdom and Ireland. Various sources have insisted the Russia decision could be amended, such is the strength of feeling around it.<\/p>\n Senior national and club teams nevertheless remain banned regardless, as has been the case since February 2022. A statement on 26 September said:<\/p>\n \u201cUefa was the first sports body to react to the war in Ukraine and took decisive action in February 2022 – suspending all Russian teams from its competitions, removing events scheduled in Russia like the Uefa Champions League final in Saint Petersburg and the Uefa Super Cup in Kazan, and cancelling its sponsorship contract with Gazprom.<\/p>\n \u201cHowever, Uefa is also aware that children should not be punished for actions whose responsibility lies exclusively with adults and is firmly convinced that football should never give up sending messages of peace and hope.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is particularly aggrieving that, due to the enduring conflict, a generation of minors is deprived of its right to compete in international football. For these reasons, the Uefa Executive Committee has decided that Russian teams of minor players will be readmitted to its competitions in the course of this season. In this respect, the Executive Committee has asked the Uefa administration to propose a technical solution that would enable the reinstatement of the Russian U17 teams (both girls and boys) even when draws have already been held.<\/p>\n \u201cAll matches of the Russian teams shall be played without the country flag, anthem, national playing kit and not on the Russian territory.<\/p>\n \u201cAt the same time, the Executive Committee reiterated its condemnation of Russia\u2019s illegal war and confirmed that the suspension of all other teams of Russia (clubs and national teams) will remain in force until the end of the conflict in Ukraine.\u201d<\/p>\nRecommended<\/h3>\n
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