Russian national football team (illustration)
©Russian national football team/vk.com/teamrussia
The leadership of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) supports the return of the Russian Federation to international competitions. This was told by the Secretary General of the Russian Football Union (RFU) Maxim Mitrofanov.
He called the current situation difficult: there is political pressure on UEFA. “It is important that the constructive dialogue continues, the UEFA leadership defends the position of the return of the RFU to international competitions,” Mitrofanov said in an interview with RB Sport. published on Sunday, May 7th.
The Secretary General of the RFU believes that the transition to Asia is a tool to achieve a specific goal. “We have an agreement with UEFA: if they do not see in a relatively short time the possibility of Russia returning to competitions under their auspices, then we will jointly think over the issue of changing the confederation,” the RFU Secretary General summed up.
The head of UEFA, Aleksander Ceferin, said earlier that it would not be easy to return Russian football teams and clubs to international competitions until the end of the special operation. At the same time, he added that he expresses only his personal opinion, and decision will by the UEFA Executive Committee.
UEFA imposed sanctions against Russian football in May last year. Against the backdrop of events in Ukraine, the Union’s Executive Committee announced the suspension of all national teams and Russian clubs from participation in international tournaments for the 2022/23 season.
At the end of December, the RFU reported that UEFA decided to ease the sanctions against Russian football and for the first time after their introduction will hold a tournament in Russia. It could have taken place in May of this year. However, in January, the media reported that the removal of the Russian national team and football clubs from UEFA tournaments will remain in effect.
