Bundesliga club 1. FC Köln is demanding that Belarusian teams be excluded from the European Cup competitions of the European Football Union. The club justifies its demand with a “look at the political situation” and the “support of Russia by the Belarusian government in the war of aggression against Ukraine”.
A letter to this effect has already been sent to UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin, the FC statement said on Thursday.
The FC is currently still waiting for its opponent for the play-off games to participate in the Conference League. Depending on how the remaining qualifying rounds go, Cologne could meet a team from Belarus, currently four teams are still in the running.
In the letter signed by the managing directors Christian Keller and Philipp Türoff, the FC bosses called on UEFA to “comply with the recommendation of the IOC (International Olympic Committee, ed.) and, in addition to the Russian teams, also the teams from Belarus with immediate to exclude the effect of all European competitions”.
Most recently, the Court of Arbitration for Sport CAS confirmed that the exclusion of Russian national and club teams from international football competitions was legal and rejected protests by Russian clubs and the association. At the end of February, the IOC issued a recommendation to the world federations of various sports to exclude Russian and Belarusian athletes.