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Tag: Issue of the Week 5

  • George Foulkes – 2023 Letter to UEFA on Belarus Taking Part in 2024 Euros (Baron Foulkes of Cumnock)

    George Foulkes – 2023 Letter to UEFA on Belarus Taking Part in 2024 Euros (Baron Foulkes of Cumnock)

    The letter sent by George Foulkes, Baron Foulkes of Cumnock, to Aleksander Čeferin, the President of UEFA, on 15 February 2023.

    Dear Mr Čeferin,

    I very much appreciated your response to the PACE Resolution which I led, towards the end of 2021, titled “Football governance: business and values”. In that report we set out a strong case for refuting extravagant models such as the proposed European super league or a biennial, bloated world cup, and I was particularly heartened by your comments which reaffirmed UEFA’s commitment “to stand firmly united behind our values and solidarity-based model.”

    I believe this spirit of solidarity was, rightly, upheld when UEFA banned the Russian Federation from competing in or hosting UEFA competitions; however I am disappointed that this ban was not extended to the Football Federation of Belarus. I see that UEFA acknowledges the role that Belarus has played in facilitating Russia’s illegal invasion, but banning home games does not seem like an entirely adequate response.

    Belarus served as a base for Russia’s initial invasion of northern Ukraine last February. Since then, it has provided military stores and equipment to Russia, allowed mobilized Russian conscripts to train on its territory, and served as a launching point for missile attacks on Ukraine. It is hard to see how these actions do not merit an all-encompassing ban on participation.

    If UEFA is willing to prevent teams from Belarus and Ukraine from being drawn against each other in UEFA competitions, then surely the simplest way to ensure this is by banning Belarus from the upcoming qualifiers. I believe that the international community must stand united on these matters and therefore hope that UEFA will reconsider their position.

    Best wishes,

    George Foulkes

  • ISSUE OF THE WEEK 5 : Should Belarus Play in the 2024 Euros?

    ISSUE OF THE WEEK 5 : Should Belarus Play in the 2024 Euros?

    ISSUE 5 – SHOULD BELARUS PLAY IN THE 2024 EUROS?

    INTRODUCTION

    The matter of whether Belarus should be playing in the qualifiers for the Euro 2024 football competition has continued to cause controversy, as some politicians believe it should be prevented from taking part because of their role in the war in Ukraine. Although the country has been prevented from hosting international games, UEFA has stated that it doesn’t currently expect to take further action to stop them playing in the football tournament and its qualifiers being held in Germany in June 2024. Russia have been prevented from taking part, with UEFA having expelled their football teams from all international competitions that they organise, following the country’s invasion of Ukraine.

    Currently, Belarus are playing in Group I of the qualifying round for Euro 2024, with other teams in their group including Switzerland, Israel, Romania, Kosovo, Belarus and Andorra. The top two teams in the group will qualify for the main part of the tournament in June 2024, with the first qualifying match for Belarus taking place against Switzerland behind closed doors in Serbia on 25 March 2023. UEFA hope that the inclusion of the Belarus team will be helpful to raise awareness of the issues by forcing them to play behind closed doors, whilst also allowing the country’s professional football players a chance to play for their national team.

    TIMELINE

    On 24 February 2022, Russia launched an invasion on Ukraine with some of their troops entering the country via Belarus. Given this escalation, UEFA met and on 3 March 2022 they issued a statement about Belarus, stating:

    “The UEFA Executive Committee met today and decided that all Belarusian clubs and national teams competing in UEFA competitions will be required to play their home matches at neutral venues with immediate effect. Furthermore, no spectators shall attend matches in which the teams from Belarus feature as host”.

    UEFA went further with Russia and suspended them from all international tournaments and matches, issuing a press release saying:

    “All Russian teams are currently suspended following the decision of the UEFA Executive Committee of 28 February 2022 which has further been confirmed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport on 15 July 2022”.

    It has been suggested that Russia could instead move to join the Central Asian Football Association (CAFA) and in March 2023 the Tajikistan Football Federation formally invited the country to join CAFA’s inaugural men’s tournament being held from 9 to 21 June 2023. Russia indicated that they were interested in the proposals, but final details have yet to be confirmed.

    Nigel Huddleston, responding to a Parliamentary question asked by Matt Vickers in March 2022 on whether Russia and Belarus should be taking part in international sports events, said:

    “Following the international summit, a joint statement was signed by 37 nations and published on Tuesday 8 March, affirming the position outlined below: Russia and Belarus should not be permitted to host, bid for or be awarded any international sporting events. Individual athletes selected by Russia and Belarus, administrators and teams representing the Russian or Belarusian state should be banned from competing in other countries, including those representing bodies, cities or brands that are effectively representing Russia or Belarus, such as major football clubs”.

    In September 2022, Nancy Faeser, the German Minister of the Interior wrote to Aleksander Čeferin, the UEFA President, asking for Belarus to be removed from taking part in the qualifications for the tournament. She commented that “not only Russia, which is waging a war of aggression in violation of international law, but also Belarus as an essential supporter of the Russian leadership should be excluded from all international football matches and tournaments”.

    Lord Foulkes wrote to Aleksander Čeferin in February 2023 noting that UEFA’s proposed ban didn’t go far enough noting that Russia had been excluded from the competition and “Belarus served as a base for Russia’s initial invasion of northern Ukraine last February”. UEFA have made limited formal responses to these requests, but have stated that the situation remains under review. A spokesperson for Lord Foulkes said that his letter was acknowledged by UEFA, but that he didn’t receive a reply.

    In March 2023, a letter was sent to UEFA signed by over 100 MEPS from the European Parliament which mentioned “the very fact of participating in UEFA Championship by the Belarusian national team will be later used by Lukashenko and his propaganda team to prove he is well-received in the international community”.

    On 15 March 2023, 30 Swiss Parliamentarians wrote to Aleksander Čeferin mentioning:

    “This choice of UEFA is in contradiction with the decision of the International Olympic Committee. The IOC has excluded both Russia and Belarus from the 2024 Olympic Games following the war of aggression against Ukraine. This decision therefore takes into account the fact that Belarus is an accomplice of Russia, because it provides Russia with a deployment area and bases for its attacks against neighbouring Ukraine. We support this clear position of the IOC and ask you to follow this example and to also exclude Belarus from all competitions by UEFA”.

    We contacted UEFA but they refused to comment.

    The debate continues about whether sport allows people to come together, or whether a country’s actions are so serious that it would be wrong for their national football team to take part in international tournaments.

    RESOURCES

    PRESS RELEASE : Belarus teams to play on neutral ground in UEFA competitions [March 2022]

    George Foulkes – 2023 Letter to UEFA (Lord Foulkes of Cumnock)

    Matt Vickers – March 2022 Letter Asking Government’s Policy on Russia and Belarus Taking Part in International Sporting Events

    Nancy Faeser – 2023 Letter Asking for Belarus to Be Removed from 2024 Euros

    Swiss Parliamentarians – 2023 Letter Asking for Belarus to be Removed from 2024 Euros

    EXTERNAL LINKS

    UEFA

    UEFA Page on Belarus

    Football Federation of Belarus

    Council of Europe – Football governance: business and values report

    Libereco – Partnership for Human Rights

    Petition to Remove Belarus from Euro 2024

    House of Commons Briefing Note on Belarus

  • Matt Vickers – 2022 Parliamentary Question on Belarus and Russia Taking Part in Sporting Events

    Matt Vickers – 2022 Parliamentary Question on Belarus and Russia Taking Part in Sporting Events

    The parliamentary question asked by Matt Vickers, the Conservative MP for Stockton South, in the House of Commons on 24 March 2022.

    QUESTION

    To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to help prevent Russia and Belarus participating in international sporting events.

    ANSWER BY NIGEL HUDDLESTON

    On Thursday 3 March, the Secretary of State and I convened a summit with 24 international ministerial counterparts – or senior representatives on their behalf – to discuss the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the response of international sport.

    The summit followed bilateral meetings that I held with counterparts from Canada, Poland and Germany.

    Following the international summit, a joint statement was signed by 37 nations and published on Tuesday 8 March, affirming the position outlined below:

    Russia and Belarus should not be permitted to host, bid for or be awarded any international sporting events.

    Individual athletes selected by Russia and Belarus, administrators and teams representing the Russian or Belarusian state should be banned from competing in other countries, including those representing bodies, cities or brands that are effectively representing Russia or Belarus, such as major football clubs.

    Wherever possible, appropriate actions should be taken to limit sponsorship and other financial support from entities with links to the Russian or Belarusian states.

  • Swiss Parliamentarians – 2023 Letter to UEFA on Belarus Playing in Euro 2024

    Swiss Parliamentarians – 2023 Letter to UEFA on Belarus Playing in Euro 2024

    The letter sent by 30 Swiss Parliamentarians to UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin on 18 March 2023. The letter has been translated from the original.

    Open letter to the UEFA President Mr Aleksander Čeferin

    Dear Mr Čeferin

    The Swiss men’s national team was placed in a qualifying group with the Belarus, together with Andorra, Israel, Kosovo and Romania, for the qualification for the 2024 European Championship.

    Following Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, UEFA expelled Russia of all competitions. However, UEFA only took punitive measures in half-heartedness against Belarus, despite Russia’s direct support for the regime of Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko. Belarus will therefore have to play its matches of qualification for the Euro at home on neutral ground and without an audience.

    This choice of UEFA is in contradiction with the decision of the International Olympic Committee. The IOC has excluded both Russia and Belarus from the 2024 Olympic Games following the war of aggression against Ukraine. This decision therefore takes into account the fact that Belarus is an accomplice of Russia, because it provides Russia with a deployment area and bases for its attacks against neighbouring Ukraine. We support this clear position of the IOC and ask you to follow this example and to also exclude Belarus from all competitions by UEFA.

    Furthermore, according to reports from Belarusian and Swiss human rights organisations, more than 1,400 people are currently imprisoned in Belarus for political reasons. Among these political prisoners is Ales Bialiatski, a prominent Belarusian activist of Human Rights who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022. He was sentenced on 3 March 2023 to a draconian prison sentence of 10 years.

    In its 2021 Human Rights Commitment, UEFA pledged to respect and promote human rights in all areas of football. In this regard, we expect UEFA to stop ignoring the detention of over 1,400 prisoners policies in Belarus and that it respects its self-imposed obligations in matters of human rights. UEFA must not turn a blind eye to the crimes of the regime of Lukashenko.

    We cannot silently accept that the Swiss national team faces, in a qualifying match for the Euro, the team of a country which is responsible for the most serious human rights violations and which supports the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine.

    We would like to urge you to immediately exclude Belarus from all UEFA competitions and in particular Euro 2024 football. The game Switzerland-Belarus scheduled for March 25, 2023 on Serbian soil should not take place while, in at the same time, more than 1,400 political prisoners are incarcerated in Belarus and that this country supports the war of aggression against Ukraine.

    Please accept, Madam, Sir, the expression of my distinguished sentiments

    Nicolas Walder, National Council, Geneva
    Fabian Molina, National Council, Zurich
    Katharina Prelicz-Huber, National Council, Zurich
    Christine Badertscher, National Council, Bern
    Christophe Clivaz, National Council, Valais
    Brigitte Crottaz, National Council, Vaud
    Laurence Fehlmann Rielle, National Council, Geneva
    Fabien Fivaz, National Council, Neuchâtel
    Claudia Friedl, National Council, St. Gallen
    Tamara Funiciello, National Council, Bern
    Corina Gredig, National Council, Zurich
    Nik Gugger, National Council, Zurich
    Barbara Gysi, National Council, St. Gallen
    Eva Herzog, Council of States, Basel-City
    Natalie Imboden, National Council, Bern
    Marc Jost, National Council, Bern
    Min Li Marti, National Council, Zurich
    Raphaël Mahaim, National Council, Vaud
    Lisa Mazzone, Council of States, Geneva
    Mattea Meyer, National Council, Zurich
    Martina Munz, National Council, Schaffhausen
    Valérie Piller Carrard, National Council, Friborg
    Stéfanie Prezioso, National Council, Geneva
    Jon Pult, National Council, Graubünden
    Franziska Ryser, National Council, St. Gallen
    Priska Seiler Graf, National Council, Zurich
    Lilian Studer, National Council, Aargau
    Cédric Wermuth, National Council, Aargau
    Felix Wettstein, National Council, Solothurn
    Céline Widmer, National Council, Zurich

  • PRESS RELEASE : Belarus teams to play on neutral ground in UEFA competitions [March 2022]

    PRESS RELEASE : Belarus teams to play on neutral ground in UEFA competitions [March 2022]

    The press release issued by UEFA on 3 March 2022.

    The UEFA Executive Committee met today and decided that all Belarusian clubs and national teams competing in UEFA competitions will be required to play their home matches at neutral venues with immediate effect. Furthermore, no spectators shall attend matches in which the teams from Belarus feature as host.

    The UEFA Executive Committee will convene further extraordinary meetings, on a regular ongoing basis where required, to reassess the legal and factual situation as it evolves and adopt further decisions as necessary.

  • Nancy Faeser – 2023 Letter Asking for Belarus to Be Removed from 2024 Euros

    Nancy Faeser – 2023 Letter Asking for Belarus to Be Removed from 2024 Euros

    Sections of the letter sent by Nancy Faeser, the German Minister of the Interior, to Aleksander Čeferin, the President of UEFA, on 16 September 2022.

    Not only Russia, which is waging a war of aggression in violation of international law, but also Belarus as an essential supporter of the Russian leadership should be excluded from all international football matches and tournaments.

    The suspension of Russian and Belarusian officials from the influential bodies of international sports federations as football must live up to its responsible role and show a united stance against this form of disregard for human rights. All those responsible must be deprived of every opportunity to participate in sport, exert influence or represent themselves in any other way.