'Moral degenerate' — Ukraine slams FIFA president for supporting Russia's return
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha harshly criticized FIFA president Gianni Infantino on Feb. 2 after the official said he supported lifting the ban on Russia's participation in international football competitions.
FIFA suspended Russia from all its competitions in 2022 following the launch of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Infantino told U.K. outlet Sky Sports that FIFA should lift the ban on Russia, particularly in youth categories.
"We have to. Definitely. This ban has achieved nothing, it has only created more frustration and hatred," Infantino said.
"Allowing boys and girls from Russia to play football in other parts of Europe could help. It's something we have to do, definitely, at least in the youth categories."
Sybiha dismissed this reasoning in a response posted to social media on Feb. 2, invoking the hundreds of young Ukrainians already lost to Russia's all-out war.
"Six-hundred seventy-nine Ukrainian girls and boys will never be able to play football — Russia killed them," he wrote on X.
"And it keeps killing more while moral degenerates suggest lifting bans, despite Russia's failure to end its war. Future generations will view this as a shame reminiscent of the 1936 Olympics."
FIFA in 2023 briefly lifted the ban on participation by under-17 athletes from Russia, but was forced to reverse the decision due to widespread backlash.
The organization has drawn criticism for actions related to Russia and Ukraine on a number of occasions. In December 2024, FIFA sparked outrage when it displayed a map during the 2026 World Cup draw that excluded Crimea from Ukraine.
FIFA has also pressured multiple European football clubs to pay outstanding transfer fees to Russia, despite international sanctions, according to an investigation by Follow the Money published in December 2025.
Ahead of the Winter Olympic Games in Milan, President Volodymyr Zelensky imposed sanctions against individuals and groups connected to Russian sports, attempting to demonstrate how Russia leverages athletics — often seen as apolitical — in state-sponsored propaganda.
Many Russian athletes who compete as "neutral" participants international competitions have ties to the Kremlin or have expressed support for the war against Ukraine.
Meanwhile, hundreds of Ukrainian athletes and coaches have been killed by Russia's full-scale invasion, and hundreds of sports facilities have been destroyed by Russian missile and drone attacks.
