After the Executive Committee of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) decided on Tuesday to lift the ban on the participation of the Russian youth national teams (U17) in international competitions, the Lithuanian Football Federation (LFF) says that the Lithuanian footballers do not intend to continue playing with the Russians.
According to LFF, although after Russia started the war in Ukraine all the country's national teams and clubs were immediately suspended, UEFA's Executive Committee reversed the decision on Tuesday - Russia's youth national teams are allowed to return to international competitions from the start of this season.
"Such a decision by UEFA was a bit unexpected, but our position on this issue has not changed at all and continues - we do not think that any Russian national teams or clubs should have the opportunity to compete in international competitions at the moment. Even in spite of the fact that they will not use the country's flag, anthem or other national symbols and will play on neutral grounds," LFF president Edgaras Stankevičius was quoted as saying in the report.
According to him, other representatives of UEFA members are unwilling to agree with such a decision.
"We can once again confirm that we continue to stand by our previous positions - we condemn Russia's military actions in Ukraine and we can assure you that we will not play with Russian football players one hundred percent, even if this is determined by the draw of one or another tournament," said the president of the federation.
According to him, if Lithuania should play with Russian youth teams in the tournaments, the football players will refuse to step on the field "regardless of what sanctions the federation could face and regardless of where the match should be played."
"In this case, we can only agree with 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 the Russian national team. We welcome their steps and we are together," said E. Stankevičius.
Poland ir Latvija decided to boycott all international football matches with Russian teams.
UEFA said in a statement on Tuesday that the ban for Russia's adult national teams and clubs will remain in place until it expires war in Ukraine. Belarus has not been disqualified by UEFA.
The Football Association of Ukraine condemned UEFA's decision in a statement late on Tuesday, calling for a review and saying that Ukraine will boycott tournaments in which Russian youth teams will participate.
