April 19 – Russia says it is still talking to UEFA about lifting the ban from European competition despite UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin recently saying no ground would be given as long as the war in Ukraine continues.
UEFA and FIFA suspended all Russian teams – national and club sides – in February last year following its invasion and earlier this month Ceferin told reporters: “My opinion is that until the war stops it would be very hard for us to change anything.”
The Russian Football Union has previously said it might consider switching to Asia from Europe in order to regain a competitive edge but RFU secretary general Maxim Mitrofanov implied this was no longer an option.
“UEFA doesn’t want the RFU to leave and the RFU doesn’t want to,” Mitrofanov was quoted as saying by Tass, the Russian news agency.
“We are negotiating with UEFA about lifting the ban and reinstatement. The negotiations are tough – these are long conversations that go on all the time.”
“Ceferin didn’t say anything new – these things are obvious.”
Russia had been expected to accept and invitation to play as a guest in the Central Asian Football Association (CAFA) Championship June 9-21 in Bishtek, Kyrgyzstan and Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
That is looking increasingly unlikely, though organisers say talks are on-going and that teams will be announced soon. Alongside the hosts, Tajikistan, Iran, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and one other Asian country were expected to form the line-up.
Russia’s men’s national team have played five friendly matches against Asian teams since the invasion of Ukraine.
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