By Andrew Warshaw in Monaco
August 28 – UEFA has invited the heads of the Russian and Ukrainian federations to its Swiss headquarters next month in an attempt to resolve the ongoing crisis over Crimean clubs and secure some kind of breakthrough.
UEFA president Michel Platini said that without the goodwill of the respective federations, the September summit would not have been possible. “In an extremely difficult context, they have opened the door to dialogue in a short space of time, all seated around the same table.”
Three Crimean clubs have been playing in Russian Cup and League matches following the disputed reunification of Crimea with Russia. Ukrainian football authorities wrote to UEFA and FIFA demanding sanctions and asserting their jurisdiction and UEFA’s Emergency Panel recently issued a statement saying that “any football matches played by Crimean clubs organised under the auspices of the Russian Football Union will not be recognised by UEFA.”
TSK Simferopol, SKChF Sevastopol and Zhemchuzhina Yalta have been accepted into a lower Russian league so UEFA’s decision not to recognise their matches is unlikely to have any immediate effect in the short term.
UEFA have kept Russian and Ukrainian clubs apart in their competitions but the authorities in both countries have now been invited to Switzerland to try and smooth relations and find a way out of the current impasse.
“It’s a very touchy subject so we are bringing the two associations together to discuss the situation and try to find a solution,” said UEFA general secretary Gianni Infantino. “So far nobody has managed to do this round the table and that’s what we are doing on September 18 for the good of football.”
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