Russia welcomes Infantino’s comments on lifting ban; Ukraine furious

Russia welcomes Infantino’s comments on lifting ban; Ukraine furiousFIFA chief Infantino suggested the ban on Russia’s participation in global competitions should be lifted.Published On 3 Feb 2026The Kremlin has welcomed FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s comments on ending a ban on Russia from international football competitions over its war on Ukraine, while Kyiv denounced his words as “irresponsible”.Infantino – who previously had friendly relations with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin – said in an interview on Monday that the ban on Russia had “not achieved anything”.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3A complete guide to the Winter Olympics 2026 in Milan-Cortinalist 2 of 3Saudi Pro League: Why is Benzema’s Al Hilal transfer linked to Ronaldo?list 3 of 3‘Intrusion of politics’: Pakistan’s boycott of India game divides opinionend of listHis words provoked fury in Ukraine, which said the ban should be in place “as long as Russians continue to kill Ukrainians”.Russia has been mostly banned from international sport since it launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.“We have seen these statements [by Infantino], and we welcome them. It’s high time to think about this,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.“Our footballers, our national team, must have their rights fully restored … We hope that sooner or later such discussions will take place in FIFA,” he added.The executive committee of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), whose next quarterly meeting takes place on ​February 11 in Brussels, Belgium, has the authority to ‌reinstate Russia. UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin has maintained that the war in Ukraine needs to end for that to happen.The European governing body in 2023 briefly planned to let Russia ‌compete in Under-17 continental championship qualifying, citing a desire not to punish children for government actions. UEFA relented ‌and upheld the ban after a dozen national ⁠federations threatened to boycott matches with Russia.