UEFA plans to return teams from Russia to its tournaments in case of "complete ceasefire" – The Independent
The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) is considering the possibility of returning Russian teams to tournaments under the auspices of UEFA in the event of a complete ceasefire.
This is reported by The Independent, Censor.NET reports.
The source of the publication claims that steps are currently being developed to return Russia to football.
It is also noted that Russia still has a great influence on the game. And internal pressure is growing in UEFA.
The article says that FIFA (the International Federation of Association Football) and UEFA suspended Russians from competitions not because of moral values when the country launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The reason for the suspension was that 12 European associations refused to play, and the number was expected to rise to 18. FIFA and UEFA had to decide: "throw out" 12 teams or one. Therefore, Russia was suspended for a "technical" reason.
"Governing bodies actively seek to avoid suspending countries for political reasons because they do not want to get into the complexity of legislation for every global conflict," The Independent writes. It is also noted that there have been only 3 suspensions in history due to politics, namely: Russia, Yugoslavia after the UN sanctions following the war in the Balkans, and apartheid in South Africa.
UEFA President Alexander Čeferin stated that higher-ups have higher ideas about using football to achieve peace.
"The moment a Russian child comes to Slovenia and is hugged by a Slovenian child, he or she will see that we are not enemies and that life must go on," the president of the association believes.
In addition, he said that the proposal to return the Russian youth teams allegedly "came under a fierce attack from politicians, especially from the left wing."
It is noted that Russia's suspension will not change without a complete ceasefire. But high-ranking officials are already developing a strategy for the return of Russians if this happens. Therefore, a ceasefire on the part of the aggressor will lead to "normalization," and sport "will come first."
