4 European countries to boycott UEFA competitions where Russian teams participate
England, Poland, Latvia and Sweden will boycott the UEFA competitions involving Russian teams, which were previously admitted to the U17 category.
Source: The Times, referring to the statement of the Football Association of England; the press service of the Football Federation of Latvia; Expressen, referring to the statement of Fredrik Reinfeldt, the President of the Swedish Football Federation; Caesar Kulesha, the President of the Polish Football Union, on Twitter (X); the press service of the Lithuanian Football Federation; Suspilne
Details: On 26 September, UEFA relaxed sanctions against the Russian Federation, returning Russian teams in the U17 age category to international competitions. The Ukrainian Football Association called on other European federations to boycott the competition.
Quote from English FA: "We do not support the position of readmitting Russia to Uefa Age Grade Competitions, and our position remains that England teams won’t play against Russia."
Quote from Polish FU President: "I was surprised by yesterday's statement from the UEFA Executive Committee. If Russian national teams are allowed to participate in the competition, our national teams will not compete with them. This is the only right decision."
Quote from Latvian FF: "The Latvian Football Federation (LFF) confirms that the Latvian national football teams of all levels will not play against Russian teams, regardless of the venue of such games or the form of representation of Russian athletes.
This is contrary to the LFF's firm position on the war that Russia started in Ukraine, and this position will remain in force until the end of hostilities in Ukraine."
Quote from Swedish FF President: "The Federal Council made its decision when Russia launched an unacceptable attack on Ukraine. We are not going to participate in any competitions with Russian participants.
We have announced and will continue to emphasise that we do not plan to compete with Russian teams. That is our position."
Quote from Lithuanian FF: "We can confirm that we continue to adhere to our previous position regarding the condemnation of Russia's military actions in Ukraine, and we can assure you that we will not play 100% with Russian football players, even if the draw of a particular tournament determines it.
If it happens that the draw in a particular tournament will select our youth teams and the youth teams of Russia, our players will not enter the field, regardless of the sanctions that can be applied to the federation for this and regardless of where the matches should take place."
Background:
- Earlier, it was revealed that the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) decided to allow Russian teams in the U17 age category to participate in international competitions. The decision was made at the Executive Committee meeting held in Limassol, Cyprus, on 26 September.
- The Ukrainian Football Association strongly condemned UEFA's decision to return U-17 teams from Russia to international competitions and stated that Ukraine would not participate in tournaments with the Russians.
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