Andriy Shevchenko will seek a meeting with Gianni Infantino on Thursday to discuss the Fifa president’s recent comments that favoured Russia’s return to international football competitions.
Infantino sparked condemnation in Ukraine when, speaking in an interview last week, he said the ban on Russia’s participation should be reassessed. Shevchenko, the Ukrainian Association of Football president, is looking to restate Ukraine’s position in private when the pair attend Uefa’s congress in Brussels.
Speaking to a domestic audience on Monday, Shevchenko said he hoped soon to “convey, in concrete terms, information about the war in Ukraine and our position”. It is understood he may get the opportunity on the sidelines of Uefa’s annual convention, which Infantino is also expected to address.
The consistent stance held by Shevchenko and his governing body is that nothing has changed since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine four years ago and that a route back for its clubs or national sides is unthinkable under the status quo.
Russia remains a member of Fifa and Uefa and the former Fifa council member Alexey Sorokin, who advises the Russian Football Union president, Alexander Dyukov, saw the pathway to a return in Infantino’s remarks. “It’s a good sign – at least we took it that way,” he said.
Russia were frozen out of competitive football because prospective opponents refused to play them. There is no groundswell to reverse that trend and, in practice, it is highly unlikely their return to World Cup or European Championship qualifiers would be viable even if Infantino and Fifa managed to welcome them back. But Infantino’s comments risk serving to normalise the idea of Russia’s comeback and have caused serious concern in Kyiv.
Ukraine has continued to suffer during a particularly harsh winter in which temperatures have plummeted while power and water supplies have been severely hit by Russian strikes. Shevchenko and the UAF have helped colleagues by offering overnight accommodation and showers at the House of Football in Kyiv. The UAF has also opened a space for children to play while conditions outdoors are too cold to do so.
