Crimean football clubs played in the championship of Russia
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Two football clubs from Crimea, annexed by Russia, played in the Russian championship for the first time after UEFA banned such games. The matches were held in the “B” division of the Second League — the fourth division of the Russian football system. What is known about it?
Two Russian teams from the annexed Crimea played in the tournament. FC “Sevastopol” beat SKA Rostov at home (3:1). Yalta “Rubin” played a draw on the road with the “Biolog-Novokubansk” team from the Krasnodar region. Both matches took place on July 16.
The participation of Crimean teams in the Russian championship was prohibited by the international federation. After the annexation of Crimea by Russia in 2014, the Russian Football Union allowed three Crimean teams to participate in the second division of Russian tournaments. In December 2014, UEFA banned Crimean teams from participating in competitions organized by the Russian Football Union, and the admitted teams were removed from the tournament.
Crimea is considered by UEFA as a “special zone”. The Crimean Football Union was created on the peninsula, which holds separate tournaments, teams from which do not enter the European Cups.
Crimean teams were again licensed to participate in the system of Russian championships after the full-scale invasion of Russia into Ukraine in 2022. By this time, Russian football teams were excluded from international tournaments. The President of the Russian Federation, Alexander Dyukov, was sanctioned by Great Britain, several Western countries, and Ukraine.
The Ukrainian Football Association appealed to FIFA and UEFA with a request to exclude Russia from the organizations because of the Crimean clubs. There it was called “another illegal action of Russia against the Ukrainian state and football”. “The permission to carry out such actions actually demonstrates disregard for the position and decisions of FIFA and UEFA,” the message on the UAF website said.
Russian sports officials can hope for a loophole in UEFA’s ban, notes Sports.ru. From this season, division “B” of the Second League has an amateur status. UEFA did not prohibit amateur games. The organization did not comment on the situation at the time of publication of the news, only reminded about the status of Crimean football.
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