FIFA Chief Hints at Russia’s Reintegration Once “Everything Is Solved” in Ukraine

FIFA President Gianni Infantino has addressed the potential return of teams from Russia to international football, the Irish Independent reported, citing a statement he made at the UEFA Congress in Belgrade, Serbia, on April 3.

In his address, Infantino expressed hope that once peace is restored in Ukraine, Russian clubs and national teams could be reintegrated into international competitions.

“As talks are going on for peace in Ukraine, I hope we can soon move to the next stage and bring back Russia in the football landscape, because this would mean everything is solved,” Infantino said.

“That is what we have to cheer for; that is what we have to pray for because that is what football is about.”

Russia has been effectively barred from all FIFA and UEFA competitions, both club and national team, at every level since its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

The outlet added the UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin also spoke about the need for unity, though he avoided directly referencing the war in Ukraine.

“We are told that we have never been so divided,” he said in his address to the Congress.

“Every day we hear what feels like a non-stop refrain – us versus them.”

On April 2, the US Department of the Treasury removed Karina Rotenberg, the wife of Russian billionaire Boris Rotenberg, from its sanctions list. The decision comes after she was initially sanctioned in March 2022, shortly after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

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