England won’t play Russian youth teams, despite Uefa reinstatement, says FA
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Uefa has announced plans to reinstate Russia’s Under-17 sides to European competition for the first time since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Follow topic:
LONDON – England’s youth teams will not face Russia, the Football Association (FA) said on Tuesday, after Uefa announced plans to reinstate Russia’s Under-17 sides to European competition for the first time since the country’s invasion of Ukraine.
Following the war which started in February 2022, European football’s governing body decided that all Russian teams – national or club sides – would be suspended from participation in their competitions.
It also cancelled its partnership with Russian energy company Gazprom.
In a statement on Tuesday, following its executive committee’s meeting in Limassol, Cyprus, Uefa said that it was “aware that children should not be punished for actions whose responsibility lies exclusively with adults”.
“It is particularly aggrieving that, due to the enduring conflict, a generation of minors is deprived of its right to compete in international football,” the statement read.
“For these reasons, the Uefa executive committee has decided that Russian teams of minor players will be readmitted to its competitions in the course of this season.
“The executive committee has asked the Uefa administration to propose a technical solution that would enable the reinstatement of the Russian U-17 teams (both girls and boys) even when draws have already been held.”
Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin added: “... by banning children from our competitions, we not only fail to recognise and uphold a fundamental right for their holistic development but we also directly discriminate against them.”
The governing body also said that Russian teams’ matches would be played overseas and would not feature the country’s flag, anthem or national kit.
However, England’s FA said that it disagreed with Uefa’s decision.
“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,” an FA spokesman said.
In 2024, the Under-17 men’s European Championship Finals will be held in Cyprus while the women’s tournament will take place in Sweden.
The Ukrainian Association of Football, meanwhile, has said that its teams will boycott all Uefa competitions involving Russian teams.
On Tuesday, Uefa also announced Armand Duka as the replacement of vice-president Luis Rubiales, the former Spanish football federation president.
Rubiales stepped down from both posts in the aftermath of his kiss on the mouth of national player Jennifer Hermoso following Spain’s World Cup victory in August.
Duka is head of Albania’s football federation and has been a member of Uefa’s executive committee since 2019. REUTERS, AFP
