SAMARA, November 7. /TASS/. The Russian Football Union’s (RFU) negotiations on a possible friendly match of its national team against the United States are currently on the backburner, RFU Secretary General Maxim Mitrofanov said in an interview with TASS on Friday.
"As of today, these negotiations are not in an active stage," Mitrofanov said speaking on the sidelines of the "Russia: Country of Sports" international sports forum.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in early September that talks were already underway on organizing a potential football friendly between Russia and the United States. Mitrofanov confirmed on September 11 that negotiations on the issue were underway.
The last time Russia and the US squared off was on November 14, 2012 in Russia’s southern city of Krasnodar. The match ended in a 2-2 draw.
The 13th Russia: Country of Sports annual international sports forum is taking place in Russia’s Volga River city of Samara on November 5-7. The annual forum was established in 2009 in accordance with a decree from the Russian president in order to develop physical culture and sport, international sports cooperation and promote a healthy lifestyle. TASS is the official information partner of the forum.
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.