Fifa president Gianni Infantino called ‘infantile’ for wanting to lift Russia ban

Infantino was awarded the Russian Order of Friendship medal by president Vladimir Putin after Russia hosted the 2018 World Cup.

However, since Russia’s ban, they have been unable to compete at the 2022 World Cup and and Uefa’s Euro 2024 and the country will not be part of the 2026 World Cup.

Russia has not completely stopped playing international footbal as they have played matches against non-Western nations without needing the permission of Fifa or Uefa.

“War is a crime, not politics,” added Bidnyi. “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.”

Last year, Ukraine criticised the International Paralympic Committee’s (IPC) decision to lift a ban on athletes from Russia and its close ally Belarus.

The Ukrainian National Paralympic Committee said the IPC had allowed Russia and Belarus to “raise their flags, drenched in the blood of hundreds of thousands of people”.

Despite the IPC lifting its ban, Russian and Belarusian Para-athletes will not be at next month’s Winter Paralympics.

Although the IPC oversees the Games, there are four separate governing bodies in charge of the six sports taking place in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo.

Three of the governing bodies have decided to keep their bans on athletes from the two countries, and although Russia and Belarus are now allowed to compete in ice hockey, the decision came too late for them to take part in qualifying.