I am not an advocate of banning athletes from competitions, said in an interview the president of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), Aleksander Ceferin, answering the question of why Israel, unlike Russia, can participate in competitions under the auspices of UEFA.
To the question of why UEFA has a different policy toward Russia and Israel, Ceferin replied that it is a legitimate question.
“In principle, I am not an advocate of not allowing athletes to compete. In the case of Russia, we see that athletes have not been competing for three and a half years, and the war is even worse than it was. I know that many are opponents of the regime, but still they cannot play… But here sport is strongly intertwined with politics, and politics is greatly involved here.”
Ceferin further explained that, for now, UEFA’s decision is that Israel can participate. “It is very difficult for me to comment on what could happen. But in principle, I think that all athletes should have the opportunity to compete and that other matters should be resolved differently.”
He also touched on the recently concluded major football competitions – the FIFA Club World Cup and the UEFA Women’s European Championship. Regarding the FIFA Club World Cup, questions are being raised within the football public about the overcrowded schedule, and Ceferin assesses that the players are more fed up with everything than the spectators.
“I think there is no more room for any new competition. Even the FIFA Club World Cup, in our opinion, is something that already overburdens the players too much. It is held after the season, and the players are practically left without rest.”
The Women’s Championship in Switzerland, however, positively surprised him.
“All our stadiums were sold out. I must say that I did not expect this even in Switzerland. At the previous European Championship in England, I somehow expected more, but now I am positively surprised. Of course, financially, it is still not so successful, or in some way, we are still losing money. But I say that this is not a loss, it is an investment in women’s football.”
Regarding the recent protest of the Slovenian volleyball national team, which did not shake hands with the Israeli team after a qualifying match for the European Championship, Ceferin said that it is difficult to comment on their decision, but that, on a principled level, he does not like it if athletes do not shake hands with each other.
The UEFA president also commented on the recent incident in Carinthia, Austria, when a football referee at a match in Klagenfurt demanded that the coach of the Slovenian club SAK from Klagenfurt speak German with the players. The case provoked a sharp protest from the club and expressions of support from Slovenia and beyond. The Austrian referees’ association also issued a public apology and announced that it would initiate appropriate proceedings against the referee.
