Switzerland – UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin explained the various sanctions imposed on Russia and Belarus.
In statements reported by the Spanish newspaper InfoLibre, Ceferin stressed that he would not allow any politician to tell UEFA what to do, and stated that he was “against a boycott or ban, but in the case of Russia there was no other option.”
In the case of Belarus, Ceferin revealed that a number of politicians asked UEFA to exclude everyone who helped Russia in the special Russian military operation in Ukraine.
Ceferin denounced the matter and raised a question: “Are those who buy gas helping Russia?!” So do we have to exclude all European countries, even the largest ones, that continue to buy gas?!”
He continued: “Politicians are the ones who must solve geostrategic problems, and asking sports organizations to do their work is nothing more than populism. They are evading their responsibilities.”
He concluded: “This is the case. When I start receiving messages from a country, I know that the elections in that country are approaching, and then they calm down.”
Russian football clubs and national teams have not participated in international tournaments since February 2022 by decision of the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) and UEFA.
Belarusian teams continue to compete, but all home matches under the auspices of UEFA have been moved to neutral stadiums.
Source: infolibre
#UEFA #President #sanctions #Russia #Belarus #politician
2024-04-10 10:59:37