Football teams from Russia must continue to exercise patience. Even after talks between the Russian association RFU and the European Football Union UEFA, the ban will remain in place until further notice. As the dpa announced on Tuesday, the Russian delegation met with representatives of UEFA in Nyon (Switzerland). The primary concern was a possible return of Russian teams to international competitions. According to the Interfax news agency, the RFU announced this in the evening.
The dialogue should therefore be continued. Another meeting is scheduled for February. UEFA has not commented on this. The British broadcaster Sky News reported on Tuesday that the exclusion should be maintained until the end of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. This ban could be lifted at European level by the UEFA Executive Committee. The committee meets on Wednesday – the subject of Russia is not officially on the agenda.
All Russian national and club teams were banned indefinitely from UEFA and FIFA competitions at the end of February due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Most recently, the Russian association had discussed a possible exit from UEFA and a move to the Asian Football Confederation AFC. However, this has now shattered, the majority of the Russian association leadership decided against leaving UEFA. “The bridges have not burned down yet,” said head of the association Alexander Dyukov a few weeks ago, explaining that the RFU is looking for a way back into European competitions.
