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UEFA Executive Committee debates easing sanctions against Russia — football official

According to Head of the RFU department of events planning and marketing communications Kirill Tereshin, Bulgaria, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Greece, Hungary, Kazakhstan, and Azerbaijan spoke for a full-fledged reinstatement of Russia

MOSCOW, September 17. /TASS/. Members of the Executive Committee of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) discussed at their meeting last week the issue of easing sanctions against Russian teams, an official with the Russian Football Union (RFU) announced on Wednesday.

"Bulgaria, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Greece, Hungary, Kazakhstan, and Azerbaijan spoke for a full-fledged reinstatement of Russia," Kirill Tereshin, the head of the RFU department of events planning and marketing communications, wrote on his Telegram channel.

"Sweden, Finland and Norway are in favor of easing the current restrictions on women's and youth teams," he continued.

"Spain, Portugal, Italy, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, Slovakia, Slovenia are ready to discuss the option, assuming UEFA itself consents," Tereshin added.

According to Sport24 web portal, 14 countries objected Russia’s return to the international arena - Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Ukraine, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium, England, Ireland, Scotland and Iceland.

The UEFA Executive Committee gathered for a meeting last week on September 11 in Albania’s Tirana.

Russia’s football ban

The world’s governing football body, FIFA, announced on February 28, 2022, that the Russian national team and all professional clubs representing the country were barred from participating in FIFA tournaments.

In turn, the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) made a similar decision regarding the Russian national football team’s 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.

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