\n Infantino’s comments provoked fury in Ukraine which remains under Russian attack [Getty]<\/p>\n
The Kremlin on Tuesday welcomed FIFA president Gianni Infantino<\/a>‘s comments on ending a ban on Moscow from international competitions over its invasion of Ukraine, while Kyiv denounced his words as “irresponsible”<\/a> during the war.<\/p>\n Infantino – who previously had friendly relations with Russia’s Vladimir Putin – said in an interview a day earlier the ban on Russia had “not achieved anything.”<\/p>\n His words provoked fury in Ukraine, which said the ban should be in place “as long as Russians continue to kill Ukrainians.”<\/p>\n Russia has been mostly banned from international sport since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.<\/p>\n “We have seen these statements (by Infantino) and we welcome them. It’s high time to think about this,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.<\/p>\n “Our footballers, our national team, must have their rights fully restored… We hope that sooner or later such discussions will take place in FIFA,” he added.<\/p>\n In an interview with Britain’s Sky News, Infantino said the ban should be lifted, arguing it had “just created more frustration and hatred.”<\/p>\n He said he believes “having girls and boys from Russia being able to play football games in other parts of Europe would help.”<\/p>\n Ukraine reacted with fury.<\/p>\n