The world football association FIFA has extended the special regulation for transfers of foreign players and coaches from clubs in Russia and Ukraine by one year until June 30, 2023. The council ruled that contracts with Ukrainian clubs will be automatically suspended until after the end of next season and that players at Russian clubs can unilaterally suspend their contracts until then. A FIFA statement on Tuesday said the move was intended to help players, clubs and coaches affected by the war in Ukraine.
On March 7th, FIFA decided on these measures, which are valid until June 30th. The suspension of a contract means “that players and coaches are considered to be without a contract until June 30, 2022 and are therefore free to sign a contract with another club without any consequences,” FIFA explained.
First loan, then permanent transfer? Future of professionals like Shakhtar’s Tetê open
Numerous professionals then took advantage of the opportunity, such as the Brazilian Tetê (22) from Shakhtar Donetsk, who initially joined Olympique Lyon on loan until the end of the season. It is not yet known how the winger will continue after June 30th.
Special transfer window: Notable players who left Russia and Ukraine
Other professionals have already agreed on permanent changes, most recently David Neres (25), who was only transferred from Amsterdam to Donetsk in January and will play for Benfica Lisbon from the summer. The Portuguese will pay Shakhtar a transfer fee of €15.3m, but are reportedly offsetting this against outstanding payments for Pedrinho’s transfer last summer – the future of the 24-year-old initially remained open.
As part of the FIFA decision, some Russian clubs also gave their foreign players the option of unilaterally terminating their contracts, above all FK Krasnodar, where future Gladbach coach Daniel Farke made use of this in early March without a competitive game with the team to have graduated.
Ukraine plans to resume Premier League play in August
FIFA and the European Football Union UEFA have banned all Russian teams from international competitions. Football has been suspended in Ukraine since the beginning of the war on February 24. At the beginning of June, association president Andrei Pawelko announced to the AP news agency that Premier League play would resume in August after consultation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
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