The more I look at this question of Russia participating in Under-17's football, the more screwed up it becomes. For the qualifying tournament has already started for one Group, with the others to commence in the next few weeks:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024_U..._qualification
How does UEFA propose to shoehorn a Russian team into the qualifiers at this stage?
Meanwhile, the Russian Football Union has been mumbling about leaving UEFA and joining the Asian Confederation:
https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/...ng-afc-sources
I daresay this is designed to put pressure on UEFA, even despite Russia being subject to a ban not just by UEFA, but by FIFA as well.
Because if we do play them first, then the Russian FA will ensure their teams are kitted out in a green jersey for away games - a mark of honour that will endure for years out of respect for the gesture by the neutral FAI..Originally Posted by EalingGreen
That’s for the Russian FA to decide.
i feel like this is one of those ones where i have no idea what the right thing to do is. i don't really feel the russian equivalent of mason melia should necessarily be punished for russia's action - we are talking about kids. And you've seen russian athletes compete at the highest level in tennis and under a neutral flag in athletics.
there's obviously a big difference between a team sport and an individual sport - and international football is based on nations and nationality, so even under a neutral name, flag and jersey, it's hard to get around the fact that the players are still representing Russia as it's the one unifying factor.
clubs are also buying and selling from russia clubs, which to me, is almost worse. For example Real Sociadad gave €13m to Dinamo Moscow for Zakharin. Who knows how that money will be used and what it'll fund.
Overall, one side of me thinks, "let the kids play, what have they done in all this" - and the other thinks "**** russia and everything associated with them, they should be ostracised from everything"
And so it goes on...
FIFA considering lifting ban on Russia competing in international football- report
FIFA is looking to end Russia's ban from international football after UEFA relaxed its position on Russia last week, Sky News reported on Wednesday.
The decision could be taken at a FIFA Council meeting later today that could allow Russian teams to play in the FIFA Under-17 World Cups if they qualify, the report said.
The item did not appear on the agenda for FIFA's Council meeting. FIFA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
https://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/2023...ia-ban-report/
It seems like / feels like, the whole Ukrainian solidarity situation is beginning to fall apart / end.
Militarily Ukraine cannot defeat Russia no matter how much material the USA and Europe pour into the country - and similarly Putin cannot win the war, it just a case of how much territory he can hold onto.
This is coupled with the fact that the expectation was that the number of refugees from Ukraine would significantly reduce and start to reverse at this point - instead it is compounding housing problems in a host of countries in Europe - leading to the what happened in Slovakia last week - and that is on top of the financial cost of maintaining Ukraine's military and the cost of assisting the refugees.
For the sports associations there are significant financial implications from excluding Russia - this was noticeable in the gymnastics worlds in Antwerp over the past few days. More and more Russian athletes will compete as individuals and its only a matter of time before the teams are allowed to compete.
Teams should be able to compete. We don't ban England, Israel or the USA for the atrocities they commit. Israel is actually plamased by moving associations because none of the arab countries in their actual association will play them.
Well that may be the case in other respects, but in this one at least, common sense and principle seem somehow to have prevailed:
Uefa has abandoned plans to reinstate Russian U17 teams into next year's youth European Championships.
Last month European football's governing body announced it was exploring how to reintegrate the Russian youth team into the international setup, having suspended all Russian teams from Uefa competitions following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Now the organisation says that finding a way to reintegrate Russia's U17 side has proven too difficult logistically.
"No technical solution to allow Russian teams to play could be found," a Uefa spokesperson said, who added that the "agenda point was withdrawn".
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/67066840
It may be that their professed reasoning for this u-turn is genuinely that they couldn't manage it logistically etc. But I'm surprised that they hadn't figured out a way before they proposed it. Therefore I'm encouraged if the real reason isn't actually to be found here:
"But around a dozen national associations, including the English Football Association, publicly expressed their opposition to playing against Russia if drawn against them at either the men's competition in Cyprus or the women's in Sweden next year."
I'm not always The FA's biggest fan (understatement!), but I'd tip my hat to them over this (were I wearing one, that is).
I’m guessing the media have won!
Still on the “Russia bad” narrative while they stay silent on Palestine based on recent events, oh the irony!
Er, this decision was either as a result of Logistical problems, or pressure from other Associations - the media have nothing to do with it.
Oh, and Palestine aren't members of UEFA.
The double standard is sickening at this stage.
Russia hasn't even come close to the level of destruction in the Ukraine that Israel has done in Gaza for the last 3 days.
Yet, The Israeli NT and clubs will have the red carpet rolled out for them when they play in Europe over the coming weeks.
No, what is "sickening" is the Whataboutery and the pig-headed ignorance:
UN report details summary executions and attacks on individual civilians by Russian troops in northern Ukraine from February to April
KYIV (7 December 2022) – In the initial weeks of the invasion of Ukraine, Russian armed forces summarily executed or carried out attacks on individuals leading to the deaths of hundreds of civilians, the Head of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, Matilda Bogner said today. A UN Human Rights report based on the work of the Mission details how Russian troops killed civilians in Ukrainian towns and villages across the Kyiv, Chernihiv and Sumy regions of Ukraine from 24 February until 6 April 2022.
Bogner said the summary executions examined in the report may constitute a war crime. “There are strong indications that the summary executions documented in this report may constitute the war crime of willful killing,” she said.
The report explains how killings of civilians were not confined to specific locations, although some areas were more affected than others. In the town of Bucha near Kyiv, which was under the control of Russian troops from 5 to 30 March, the Mission documented the killing of 73 civilians (54 men, 16 women, 2 boys and 1 girl) and is in the process of corroborating an additional 105 alleged killings.
Summary executions often followed security checks by Russian armed forces. “A mere text message, a piece of camouflage clothing, or a record of previous military service could have fatal consequences,” Bogner said.
The report states that the UN has, so far, documented the violent deaths of 441 civilians (341 men, 72 women, 20 boys and 8 girls) in the three regions in the initial 6 weeks of the Russian invasion alone. The report cautions that the actual figures are likely to be considerably higher as work is still ongoing to corroborate an additional 198 killings that occurred in the Kyiv, Chernihiv and Sumy regions of Ukraine occupied by Russia in the initial stages of the ongoing armed attack against Ukraine.
Apart from the summary execution of civilians, the report covers cases when Russian troops launched attacks that did not respect the principle of distinction between military objectives and civilians, and failed to take all feasible precautions to spare civilians. “Civilians were targeted on roads while moving within or between settlements, including while attempting to flee the hostilities,” Bogner said.
https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-relea...roops-northern
Let's keep it to the actual under 17 squad
If you want to compare and contrast war crimes, use the current affairs forum
Fair dues, but when so many people are suffering on all sides, I find it sickening when certain people choose one particular side and point the finger at the other. And I'd say exactly the same if someone came on saying eg the Israelis are blameless/justified etc.
P.S. You can shift this to the CA section too if you like, though I've always made a point of studiously avoiding it (you'll all be pleased to hear!)
Not directly relevant, but as an aside, the International Olympic Commission has just suspended the Russian Olympic Commission "with immediate effect":
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/67049864
(Hope you don't mind me adding it here, if not, delete or move. Thanks)
Rory Finneran being part of it after making his Blackburn debut recently is exciting
Its really not that complicated!!!
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