ST. PETERSBURG, June 7. /TASS/. The world’s governing football body, FIFA, and the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) may reconsider their ban on Russia by the end the year, a senior Russian football official told TASS on Friday.
"This is my gut feeling based on all discussions and personal talks at the [74th FIFA] Congress in Bangkok," Alexey Sorokin, advisor to the president of the Russian Football Union (RFU) told a TASS correspondent on the sidelines of the 2024 St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).
Earlier this week, RFU President Alexander Dyukov told TASS that Russia’s participation in FIFA and UEFA-sanctioned tournaments globally and in Europe could be revisited in the fall of this year.
"I also think that everyone is just tired of the current situation. They are not showing it outwardly, but internally, there is a feeling that they are ready to bring Russia back, because on some subtle level, everyone understands that it is impossible and wrong to sideline all these national teams from one of the biggest countries simply for political reasons," Sorokin continued.
"This is why it seems to me that by the end of the year, perhaps in the fall, it is necessary to return to discussions with UEFA and FIFA regarding the lifting of all bans. I have a feeling that deep down, our colleagues are beginning to realize this," he added.
The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) is being held on June 5-8. This year’s theme will be "The Formation of New Areas of Growth as the Cornerstone of a Multipolar World."
Scheduled events include meetings for small and medium-sized businesses, creative industries, the SPIEF Youth Day, as well as the Drug Security, SPIEF Academy and SPIEF Junior forums. SPIEF is organized by the Roscongress Foundation. TASS is the information partner of the event.
Russia’s football ban
The International Association Football Federation (FIFA) announced on February 28, 2022 that the Russian national teams and all professional clubs representing the country were barred from taking part in FIFA tournaments.
In turn, the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) made a similar decision regarding the Russian national football teams’ participation in UEFA tournaments.
Both FIFA and UEFA cited Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine as grounds for their respective bans on Russian teams’ participation in competitions.