European Union’s sports commissioner, Glenn Micallef, criticized the statements of FIFA President Gianni Infantino, and indicated that Russia poses a real security threat, writes Politico.
Infantino has announced that the world’s leading football organization should allow Russian athletes to participate in international tournaments. The FIFA president said on the 2nd of February that bans and boycotts create more hatred, and allowing Russian boys and girls to participate in tournaments in Europe would send a positive message. FIFA banned Russia from participating in tournaments after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Micallef opposed Infantino’s proposal on the 4th of February, and indicated that the ban should remain in place. He stressed that sport does not exist in a vacuum, and that it reflects who people are and what they choose to stand for: “Letting aggressors return to global football as if nothing happened ignores real security risks and deep pain caused by the war.”
Infantino’s idea also sparked outrage in Ukraine. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sibikha reminded on social media that
679 Ukrainian boys and girls will never play football because the Russians killed children.
The minister added that Moscow continues the killings while moral cripples recommend lifting the ban despite Russia’s failure to end the aggression.
Moscow, of course, praised the FIFA president’s line of thought. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he had seen the statements and welcomed them.
The United States is hosting the World Cup this summer, along with Mexico and Canada. Even if the ban were lifted, Russia would not be able to participate because it did not play in the qualifying tournaments.
Infantino has a close relationship with US President Donald Trump, and in December he was awarded the newly created FIFA Peace Prize.
The sports world has begun to take a softer stance on Russia, with the president of the International Olympic Committee also making it clear that Russian athletes should not be held accountable for the government’s actions.
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