Ukraine to Boycott All UEFA Competitions after Lifting Russian Teams Suspension

On Tuesday, Ukraine announced boycotting all UEFA tournaments involving  Russian teams after the European football governing announced its intention to lift the ban of all Russian Under-17 teams to European competitions.

The Ukrainian Association of Football (UAF) asked UEFA to reconsider its decision and urged other European countries not to play against Russian teams.

UEFA suspended all Russian teams from participating in its competitions after the Russian military operations in Ukraine.

However, the European football body explained on Tuesday that "children should not be punished for actions whose responsibility lies exclusively with adults", and that Russian U-17 sides would be readmitted to UEFA competitions "in the course of this season".

Therefore, the Ukrainian football governing body stated: "UAF strongly condemns today's UEFA decision on the return of U-17 teams from the Russian Federation to international competitions."

"UAF confirms that we will not take part in any competitions with the participation of Russian teams, and appeal to other UEFA member associations to boycott possible matches with the participation of teams from the Russian Federation, subject to their admission."