April 1 – FIFA president Gianni Infantino may have stopped short of holding Russia accountable for the war in Ukraine during Thursday’s FIFA Congress, but the appearance by video of the head of Ukrainian football wearing an armoured vest and making an impassioned plea from the streets of Kyiv presented a very clear message to those in the auditorium.
“We have regularly received sad news of the deaths of members of the Ukrainian football community,” said Andriy Pavelko (pictured) in a recorded message to delegates – including those from Russia.
“They have been killed by the aggressors’ rockets from one of the biggest armies in the world. Football has taken a back seat in our country.”
Infantino conceded that the 2018 World Cup in Russia “did not even solve the problems in the region. It did not create a lasting peace.”
But there was no direct demand to Vladimir Putin, who awarded Infantino Russia’s Order of Friendship medal after the last World Cup, to stop the war.
One of the main reasons for Infantino’s diplomacy was that Alexey Sorokin, the chief organiser of Russia 2018 and former member of the FIFA Council, was in the audience.
But Pavelko, unable to travel, left no stone unturned in reminding Fifa’s global membership who was responsible for the atrocities in his country.
“Our children have suffered terrible psychological injuries. Perhaps football will help them forget the horrors of war,” he said
“Let the battles take place not in the streets with weapons but in crowded stadiums in fair football duel and let the spectators in the stands explode when their favourite team scores a goal, not the bombs.”
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