Ukraine Officials Issue Statement After Infantino's Comments on Russia Ban
Ukraine's Foreign Minister has lashed out at FIFA President Gianni Infantino following his comments about lifting Russia's ban.
The 2026 World Cup is now just four months away, with the United States, Mexico and Canada set to co-host the major competition.
Ahead of the World Cup getting underway, there has been a major increase in discussions regarding the political aspect of football, with US President Donald Trump recently threatening both co-hosts Canada and Mexico.
Recently, FIFA president Infantino made headlines as he confirmed that the world football's governing body would consider lifting Russia's ongoing ban set in place following the invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
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And now, Ukraine's Foreign Minister has reacted to the comments in a heated post on social media.
FIFA banned Russia from international football four years ago in February 2022, expelling from the World Cup in Qatar that year, and excluding them from qualifying for the 2026 tournament.
At the time, FIFA said it was "in full solidarity with all the people affected in Ukraine", and claimed that it hoped that for the situation in Ukraine would improve rapidly.
But now, despite the fact the war remains ongoing, Infantino has claimed that "this ban has not achieved anything" and "has just created more frustration and hatred".
He added: "Having girls and boys from Russia being able to play football games in other parts of Europe would help."
Unsurprisingly, the comments did not go down well with Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, who posted his reaction on social media.
He wrote: “679 Ukrainian girls and boys will never be able to play football — Russia killed them. And it keeps killing more while moral degenerates suggest lifting bans, despite Russia’s failure to end its war.
"Future generations will view this as a shame reminiscent of the 1936 Olympics.”
Matvii Bidnyi, Ukraine’s Minister of Youth and Sports, also criticised Infantino, writing on social media: “Gianni Infantino’s words sound irresponsible — not to say infantile.
"They detach football from the reality of children being killed.
"War is a crime, not politics. It is Russia that politicises sport and uses it to justify aggression.
"As long as Russians continue killing Ukrainians and politicising sport, their flag and national symbols have no place among people who respect values such as justice, integrity and fair play."
Despite being banned by FIFA, Russia has not stopped playing international matches against non-Western nations, with their latest result being a 2-0 loss to Chile in November.
Topics: FIFA, Russia, Gianni Infantino, Football
Ben McCrum