An unfortunate FIFA mistake in the draw for the World Championship qualifying

2024-12-14 09:00 © AFP

After the draw ceremony for the World Championship qualifiers that took place on Friday, foreign media noticed a regrettable FIFA mistake.

The organizers of the ceremony, who arranged the selection groups for the Old Continent, simultaneously displayed potential draw restrictions on the screen.

However, not everything went smoothly for them – when showing the corresponding countries on the map of Europe, the Crimean Peninsula was taken from Ukraine.

Shortly afterward, criticisms flew towards FIFA on social media.

“The organization has been unable for several years to remove Belarus, which aids the Russians in warfare, and now they are also taking Crimea,“ “Why didn’t you show that Crimea belongs to Ukraine? The United Nations has not changed its resolution yet,“ internet users expressed their anger.

⚡ During the 2026 @FIFAWorldCup draw held at FIFA headquarters in Zurich, a map of Ukraine was displayed without the temporarily occupied Crimea.

The map was shown during the draw, where the National Football Team learned its future rivals.

📷: Suspilne pic.twitter.com/sUhivbz6RC

— UNITED24 Media (@United24media) December 13, 2024