Fifa Congress praises Ukrainian vow to beat Russian 'aggression'

Doha

Dressed in a bullet proof jacket, the head of Ukraine's football association on Thursday received a rapturous ovation from the Fifa Congress for his vow that his country would beat Russia in their military battle.

Andriy Pavelko spoke in a video from a square in Kyiv, as he could not fly to Doha, telling of the suffering following Russia's invasion.

The military assault means a World Cup playoff between Ukraine and Scotland has been suspended at least until June.

For more than a month, Ukraine has been resisting Russia's "military aggression", he said.

"We regularly receive the sad news of the death of football's representatives, killed by the aggressor's bullets and shells."

"Football has taken a back seat because every day children and adults die in our country."
He made no appeal to kick Russia, which hosted the last World Cup in 2018, out of the governing body.

But he said: "We will fight back against the aggressor and we will win."

The Russian team has been kicked out of the race for this year's World Cup and has made an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Ukraine's ambassador to Qatar, Andrii Kuzmenko said the neighbours should also be excluded from Fifa.

"I think they must be expelled because they have perpetrated crimes, they have perpetrated terror," he told AFP in the Congress hall.

Russia's representatives to Fifa made no comment during the debate.

But Alexey Sorokin, a former member of the Fifa Council, said: "What has Russian football got to do with all that. What bad has Russian football done. I see nothing in the Fifa statutes that Russian football has violated."

Fifa president Gianni Infantino said the football body must fight for peace and that Ukraine is not the only conflict zone in the world that must not be forgotten.

He called on all politicians to work to stop the conflicts and "engage dialogue even with your worst enemies".

Football has taken up the international outrage over the Russian invasion since February 24.

Poland launched a boycott of playing against Russia, followed by other European nations until Fifa excluded the country from World Cup competition.

The arbitration court has already rejected one move by Russia to get the exclusion suspended while it considered a definitive ruling.

Fifa has given $1 million (900,000 euros) to aid humanitarian aid efforts to Ukraine.

Ukrainian players and coaches are allowed to sign for clubs in other countries without waiting for the official transfer window to open in August.