COMMENTS from Fifa president Gianni Infantino supporting lifting a ban on Russia at youth level are “irresponsible” and “infantile,” Ukraine’s sports minister said today.

Infantino said the ban on Russia competing, which was imposed by Fifa and Uefa after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, should “definitely” be lifted, “at least at youth level.”

Infantino added on Sky News that the ban had “not achieved anything” and “created more frustration, and hatred.”

“Having girls and boys from Russia being able to play football games in other parts of Europe would help,” the Swiss said.

Matvii Bidnyi, Ukraine’s sports minister, said today: “Gianni Infantino’s words sound irresponsible — not to say infantile. They detach football from the reality in which children are being killed.

“Let me remind you that since the start of Russia’s full-scale aggression, more than 650 Ukrainian athletes and coaches have been killed by Russians.

“Among them were more than 100 footballers. One example is Illia Perezhogin, a 10th-grade student at a Mariupol school, who was simply playing football at his school stadium when a Russian missile struck.

“Former futsal player Viktoriia Kotliarova was killed together with her mother during the shelling of Kyiv on December 29 2023. She was a Kiev Student Futsal Cup champion and a winner of the Dynamo Student League tournament.

“War is a crime, not politics. It is Russia that politicises sport and uses it to justify aggression. I share the position of the Ukrainian Association of Football, which also warns against Russia’s return to international competitions.

“As long as Russians continue killing Ukrainians and politicising sport, their flag and national symbols have no place among people who respect values such as justice, integrity, and fair play.”

On December 17 the Fifa Council announced plans for a new under-15 festival, with a boys’ event to be staged next year and a girls’ event in 2027. That followed a recommendation from the Olympic Summit for international sports federations to allow Russian teams and athletes to compete under their national flag at youth level.

A media release confirming the Fifa Council’s decisions said the events would “be open to all 211 Fifa member associations.”

Speaking on Boxing Day last year, the Russian Football Union president Alexander Dyukov said: “We expect that next year, following the IOC [recommendation], international football regulators will make decisions that will allow our teams to participate in official international competitions.

“We hope that, taking into account the IOC recommendations, a way will be found to include our teams in the appropriate groups at the next draw. We also expect similar decisions from Fifa.

“The contacts and communications that have taken place indicate that Fifa and Uefa view the IOC’s decision positively, although it is not binding on them.”

Dyukov said he intended to attend next week’s Uefa Congress in Brussels, which would be “an opportunity to discuss our return.”

Senior figures within the administration of European football spoken to by the Press Association remain sceptical around the lifting of the ban in practical terms even at youth level, amid fears other teams would simply refuse to line up against Russia until a lasting political settlement is reached to end the conflict.