Ukraine stands firm on its position. In the wake of FIFA’s announcement of its decision to reinstate Russian youth teams (under-17s) in international competitions, the Ukrainian government has called on soccer’s governing bodies to reconsider their plans. “We demand that the FIFA and UEFA decisions be revised, as they infringe the rights of Ukrainian children who have been deprived by Russia of the right to train safely and simply live in their homeland without the threat of being kidnapped, raped or killed,” said the Ministry of Sport and Youth in a statement. The Ukrainian authorities insist: “We firmly believe that soccer should always promote peace, tolerance and justice, not encourage the continuation of war and promote impunity.” After UEFA announced its decision to reinstate Russia’s Under-17 teams in international competitions last month, Ukraine gave assurances that it would boycott tournaments featuring neutral teams representing Russia. According to the Ministry of Sport and Youth, its call for a boycott has already been followed by England, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Norway and Romania.
