FIFA and UEFA spark outrage as major 'error' spotted in World Cup qualifying draw after its completed

FIFA and UEFA sparked outrage on Friday as a major 'error' was spotted during the World Cup qualifying draw.

The much-anticipated draw in Zurich, Switzerland was available to stream live on FIFA+ and its official YouTube channel.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino introduced the event before Robert Pires, Gianluca Zambrotta, Rachel Yankey, Ariane Hingst and Fernando Llorente stepped up to help proceedings.

But before the draw was conducted, those in charge displayed a presentation featuring factors that "need to be taken into account".

Here, international relations were mentioned as a factor that can impact which team a group goes into, and a map of Ukraine was displayed without the temporarily occupied Crimea.

Taking to X, formerly Twitter, the account KarpatyLvivFC reacted to the incident.

They wrote: "Are you okay, @FIFAcom? You are showing countries that cannot play each other in the same qualifying group for the World Cup. In addition to failing to recognize Belarus as one of the aggressors and suspend it from the competition, you are also violating the sovereign borders of Ukraine."

The account added: "Crimea was, is, and will remain Ukrainian. And by doing so, you are playing into the hands of the occupiers and aggressors, legitimizing their actions. We call for an apology!"

Here's how others on social media reacted.

One fan wrote: "During the 2026 @FIFAWorldCup draw held at FIFA headquarters in Zurich, a map of Ukraine was displayed without the temporarily occupied Crimea. The map was shown during the draw, where the National Football Team learned its future rivals."

A second said: "This is an absolute scandal. In the official report of the World Cup qualifiers, Crimea was marked by FIFA as Russian."

A third added: "Why do you not show Crimea as part of Ukraine? The UN recognizes it as part of Ukraine."

The Ukrainian Association of Football sent a letter to FIFA regarding the error in depicting the map of Ukraine during the broadcast, describing it as "unacceptable".

And FIFA has since responded.

"We acknowledge receipt of your letter dated December 13, 2024, and would like to thank you for bringing this matter to our attention. We deeply respect the concerns raised by the Ukrainian Association of Football and the sensitivity of the issue at hand," said Elkhan Mammadov, the Chief Member Association Officer at FIFA.

"The infographic in question was developed by a external third-party service provider. Upon recognising the issue, we have taken immediate steps to address the situation, including working to have the image removed from circulation.

"Additionally, we are conducting an internal review to ensure such oversights do not recur in the future.

"We fully understand the delicate sensitivity of this matter and while the incident was unintentional, we sincerely regret any concern it may have caused and appreciate your understanding as we work to address this situation responsibly."

Back in November, UEFA and FIFA extended Russia's worldwide ban from football ahead of the draw for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.

The Russian Football Union (RFU) has banned from both FIFA and UEFA competitions since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

That means neither the men's nor women's teams can play in the World Cup or European Championships. Domestic club sides also cannot play in UEFA competitions.

Similar restrictions have been applied in other sports, with some sports allowing individual competitors to compete under a neutral flag or, in the case of the Olympics, under the Individual Neutral Athletes (AIN) banner.

according to Russian outlet MatchTV, FIFA and UEFA have decided to uphold Russia's ban from worldwide competitions through to the 2026 World Cup.

That means they will not be able to enter the qualifying process, with one group containing one fewer team as a result.

SPORTbible has reached out to FIFA and UEFA for comment.