Position of LFF: There will be no games with Russian youth national teams

2023-09-27 16:37 © lff.lt

The Lithuanian Football Federation shares a message regarding the decision made during Tuesday's UEFA Executive Committee meeting.

The UEFA Executive Committee has decided to lift the ban on Russian youth national teams (U17) participating in international competitions.

It is worth noting that all Russian national teams and clubs were immediately suspended when the war in Ukraine began in February of last year.

However, now, by the decision of the UEFA Executive Committee, this decision has been changed - Russian youth national teams are allowed to return to international competitions starting from the beginning of this season.

"Such a decision by UEFA was somewhat unexpected, but our position on this issue remains unchanged - we do not believe that any Russian national teams or clubs should have the opportunity to compete in international competitions at this time. Even if they do not use the country's flag, anthem, or other national symbolism and play in neutral venues.

Today, we have had a lot of discussions with representatives of other UEFA members, and they are also not inclined to agree with this decision.

We can once again confirm that we will continue to adhere to our previous principles - we condemn Russian military actions in Ukraine and we can assure you that our national team players will not play with Russian players, even if it means certain sanctions for the federation and regardless of where those matches are supposed to be played.

In this case, we can only support the representatives of the football federations of Ukraine, England, Latvia, and other countries who have already publicly stated that their players will not play against Russian teams. We welcome such steps and stand together," said LFF President Edgaras Stankevičius.