In the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the world’s industries have seen a major shake up. Football, the world’s game, is not excluded from the events taking place in Ukraine, nor has the world football community ignored them. Actions have been swiftly taken from fans supporting Ukrainian players, to soccer’s biggest governing body taking action against Russian football as a result of their government’s choice to invade.
As the World Cup in 2022 approaches, Russia was set to play Poland in a crucial qualifying match. If they win, they would face the winner of a match between Sweden and the Czech Republic in a match to decide who goes to the World Cup. However, all three nations stated their refusal to play against the Russian national team. FIFA responded on February 28, releasing a joint statement with UEFA that Russian national sides and club sides would be suspended from international play, which includes those World Cup qualifiers, until further notice.
At the club level, the Champions League Final was set to take place in Saint Petersburg on May 28, but UEFA has already voted to move the final to Paris. The Russian Football Federation reacted to this by stating that they have always operated under the principle that ‘sport is out of politics,’ an old time belief that flies in the face of football acting as a catalyst to advance progressive movements using massive reach as a sport.
Luckily, the wider soccer community doesn’t share this belief, and the resulting outpouring of support for Ukraine has been immense. German club FC Schalke terminated their sponsorship with Gazprom, a Russian gas company, which has sponsored the club since 2007. In England, the Premier League saw a massive support during a match between Everton and Manchester City for Ukrainian players Oleksandr Zinchenko and Vitalii Mykolenko who play for City and Everton respectively. In Italy, Ukrainian midfielder Ruslan Malinovsky sported a shirt reading ‘no war in Ukraine’ under his jersey and revealed it after scoring a goal during a Europa League match. He would go on to grab another and help his team advance to the next round.
And perhaps most significantly, Chelsea owner Roman Abramovic has relinquished control of the club due to his ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin and pressure to sanction those within Putin’s inner circle. While Abramovic does not intend on selling the club, he was encouraged to give up his assets in Chelsea with British parliament members even suggesting that his assets in the west should be seized due to his ties to Putin and the Russian state.
The actions from football’s governing bodies, to fans and players, represents how football can be such a powerful uniting force. A game so global forces politics into the sport whether certain individuals choose to accept it or not. Football allows for fans and players to sympathize with one another through one platform that connects us all regardless of background. The actions from fans, players and governing bodies reflect the power of football to help fight against international crises and those actions should continue in order to put pressure on Russia to stop their military actions in Ukraine.