Fifa president Gianni Infantino has attracted criticism in terms of Ukrainian officials, after implying that world football governing body reexamine their suspension of Russia, which was imposed in February 2022, after the war broke out in Ukraine.
Russian national teams and even the clubs were banned by Fifa and Uefa just after the conflict started which meant Russia was not allowed to compete in the 2022 world cup, Euro 2024 and even the 2026 world cup. Almost four years later, and the fight was still on, Infantino inquired whether the ongoing exclusion was working.
In recent comments, Infantino admitted that the ban has not done anything but instead it has only generated more frustration and hatred. He contended that the participation of Russian children in football in Europe might have a positive role, and he added: It would be good to have girls and boys in Russia playing football games in the rest of Europe.
The comments made by Infantino elicited a vigorous reaction among the sports minister of Ukraine Matvii Bidnyi, who alleged that the Fifa president was infantile and irresponsible. Bidnyi, in a post on a social media platform, declared that the remarks of Infantino made football unrealistic and brought attention to the death of Ukrainian sportsmen since the onset of a full-scale invasion by Russia.
According to Bidnyi, it had been reported that over 650 Ukrainian athletes and coaches had been murdered, over 100 of whom were footballers. He claimed that Russia politicised sport, and Ukrainian football officials wanted Russia not to be returned to international competitions.
Russia though has proceeded to play international matches not on the Fifa and Uefa system and has to face the non-Western world without seeking the sanction of the European or world football association. This has enabled Russian football to have a certain degree of international participation even with the ban.
The relationship that Infantino had with Russia in the past has also attracted attention. In 2018, President Vladimir Putin presented him with the Russian Order of Friendship after Russia hosted the world cup which was widely considered a major organizational success of world football at the time.
The controversy is similar to previous scandals of international sport. Last year Ukraine also attacked the International Paralympics Committee (IPC) when it lifted a ban on Russian and Belarus athletes. Even though the IPC ruling technically permitted the involvement, Russian and Belarusian athletes will continue to remain out of the next Winter Paralympics, with the majority of the bodies that control the games opting to keep their bans in place.
The statements by Infantino are an indication of a rising debate in the world of sport with the question of whether bans are really working, or there is another way forward through participation in competition.