As expected, as a result of the Ukraine war, Russia will not take part in the draw for qualifying for the 2024 European Football Championship in Germany. This was confirmed by the European Football Union (UEFA) on Tuesday after an Executive Committee meeting in Hvar, Croatia.
Neighboring Belarus, on the other hand, will take part in the group draw on October 9th in Frankfurt/Main.
In February, UEFA banned the participation of Russian national teams and clubs in its competitions “until further notice”. According to UEFA, 53 of their 55 members will take part in qualifying. Belarus isn’t specifically mentioned in the statement, but with the missing teams being Russia and hosts Germany, Russia’s controversial neighbor is included.
In a letter to UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin, the German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD), who is responsible for sport, called for the country to be excluded from qualifying. In her letter, Faeser demanded that “not only Russia, which is waging a war of aggression that violates international law, but also Belarus, as a key supporter of the Russian leadership, should be excluded from all international soccer games and tournaments.”