FIFA President Gianni Infantino has said he believes Russia should be reinstated in international football after being banned following its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
In an interview with Sky, Infantino argued the suspension “has not achieved anything” and has only fueled “frustration and hatred.” He said allowing Russian children to play matches elsewhere in Europe would be beneficial.
Russia was suspended from international football after the invasion in February 2022. The country was expelled from the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and did not take part in qualifying for the 2026 World Cup. Since 2018—the last competitive tournament in which the men’s team played—Russia’s national side has only played friendlies. UEFA briefly considered allowing Russia’s under-17 teams to return in 2023 to avoid penalizing children for government actions, but reversed the plan after pressure from multiple national associations.
UEFA’s executive committee, which can reinstate Russia for club and international competitions, meets on February 11. UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has said Russia must end its invasion of Ukraine before it can return to competitive football.
Ukraine’s sports minister Matvii Bidnyi strongly criticized Infantino’s comments, calling them “irresponsible — not to say infantile” and saying they detach football from “a reality in which children are being killed.” Bidnyi accused Russia of politicizing sport to justify aggression and endorsed the Ukrainian Association of Football’s warnings against Russia’s return to international competitions. He added that while Russians continue killing Ukrainians and politicizing sport, their flag and symbols have no place among those who respect justice, integrity and fair play.
Shortly after Infantino spoke, Ukrainian officials reported that strikes on Kyiv had resumed, citing injuries, damage to energy infrastructure and emergency heating cuts after the end of a cold-weather truce.
The status of Russian athletes at the upcoming Winter Olympics in Italy is unchanged: competitors from Russia and Belarus may only take part as Individual Neutral Athletes under a special IOC designation for athletes from suspended Olympic committees. Approval for neutral status is selective and based on strict IOC criteria intended to ensure athletes are not linked to the political or military actions that prompted the bans. Thirteen Russian athletes and seven Belarusians have been approved to compete as neutrals in Milan-Cortina.
The situation has been complicated by actions such as the Russian Olympic Committee taking control of sports bodies in occupied Ukrainian territory, which the IOC said crossed a legal boundary in its system.
By contrast, Russia fielded many more athletes in recent Olympics under different neutral or committee designations: around 160 athletes competed in 2018 under the “Olympic Athletes from Russia” banner following a state-sponsored doping scandal, winning 17 medals; more than 200 athletes competed in Beijing under the “Russian Olympic Committee” designation in 2022, winning 32 medals. Four days after the end of the Beijing Games, Russia invaded Ukraine.
Edited by: Matt Pearson