Shakhtar Donetsk chief executive Sergei Palkin has called on FIFA president Gianni Infantino to visit Ukraine and witness the destruction caused by war rather than suggesting Russia could rejoin world football.
Tuesday marked the fourth anniversary of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia. Estimates vary but The Center for Strategic International Studies state as many as 140,000 Ukrainians have been killed in addition to 325,000 Russians.
Russian football clubs and national teams were suspended from all competitions by FIFA and UEFA in February 2022. But Infantino said earlier this month that the ban should be lifted because it “has not achieved anything, it has just created more frustration and hatred.”
Ukraine’s sports minister Matvii Bidnyi branded those comments “irresponsible” and “infantile” and claimed that over 100 footballers are among more than 650 Ukrainian athletes and coaches killed by Russians.
Palkin continued his criticism of FIFA after Ukrainian clubs felt let down by the organisation over the introduction of Annex 7 to their regulations, which allowed foreign players in Russia and Ukraine to unilaterally suspend their contracts following the outbreak of war in the region.
As part of an exclusive interview with ESPN in a feature reflecting on four years of conflict, Palkin said: “This story with FIFA has gone on for four years and I am very tired of this kind of connection with FIFA.
“It is the same negative attitude to Ukrainian football when Infantino gives statements saying we will invite Russia to rejoin world football.
“Can you imagine if a person has this kind of statement? Annex 7 is nothing in comparison with this.
“I suggest Infantino visits Ukraine to witness the destruction first hand rather than making this kind of irresponsible statement from a distance. Reintegrating Russia while Ukraine suffers from this war, it is a betrayal of the sport’s ‘one family’ claim.
“He should not think about reintegrating Russia, he should think how to create a fund which will finance a rebuild of sport infrastructure in Ukraine. We have unbelievable conditions.
“We have a lot of infrastructure completely destroyed. Our football is in a very, very critical situation. Infantino should think about this and not about integrate a country which fully invaded Ukraine and tried to kill our people, our children.”
FIFA declined to comment when contacted by ESPN. Shakhtar believes Annex 7 has cost them around €60 million ($70.65m) in lost revenues as approximately 15 players left the club without the transfer fees they would have received in peacetime.
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Sporting director Dario Srna compared their relationship with FIFA to the more positive dialogue they have had with UEFA and their president Aleksander Ceferin.
“FIFA didn’t do nothing for us,” Srna told ESPN. “This is disrespectful. They must protect the club, the players, the football. We lost a lot our investment and players because of FIFA rules which have no logic.
“They did not give us an explanation. They must be there to help the players, help the clubs and help the football in Ukraine, not to destroy it. Mr Ceferin was there 24/7 for us.
“From his side, he helps a lot and this is respect. UEFA is fighting for football. They destroy the European Super League because it is nice to see when Bodo/Glimt beat City, beat Inter. This is an expression of football. Football is for everyone, not just for clubs with money. But FIFA doesn’t care about that. They show the opposite.
“Ceferin was on the phone with me every day helping get players in and out of Ukraine. He even called [French president Emmanuel] Macron to help. He didn’t behave like the president of UEFA, he behaved like a human being.”
