Foreign Minister Andrey Sibiga blasted global football boss Gianni Infantino for criticizing the ban on Russian athletes
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrey Sibiga said it was shameful for FIFA President Gianni Infantino to criticize the ban on Russian athletes.
Infantino told Sky News on Monday that bans and boycotts “don’t bring anything and just contribute to more hatred,” adding that Russians should be allowed to compete “at least at youth level.”
In his response on X, Ukraine’s top diplomat accused Russia of killing civilians. “And it keeps killing more while moral degenerates suggest lifting bans, despite Russia’s failure to end its war,” Sibiga wrote.
Sibiga argued that future generations would view Infantino’s remarks as shameful and compared his stance to the 1936 Olympics hosted by Nazi Germany.
Russia maintains that its troops only strike military sites in Ukraine and denies deliberately killing civilians.
Since the conflict erupted between Russia and Ukraine in February 2022, Russian and Belarusian athletes and national teams have been banned from most international competitions and sporting organizations, including FIFA and UEFA games and the Olympics. Ukraine has imposed sanctions on individual Russian athletes it accused of supporting “aggression and propaganda.”
Several organizations have recently relaxed restrictions, with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) urging national bodies late last year to allow athletes from Russia and Belarus to participate in junior competitions under their national flags and anthems.
Russian officials have rejected the boycotts as a “politicization” of sport. Mikhail Degtyarev, the head of the Russian Olympic Committee, condemned the exclusion of Russian athletes as “political discrimination” and a violation of the Olympic Charter.
