The UEFA president was admired in Russia, where he was wished "the strength of spirit to resist the position of a number of countries"

Former Russian sports minister Pavel Kolobkov is demanding that European Football Union (UEFA) President Aleksander Čeferin initiate the return of not only youth teams to international tournaments. At the same time, the Sydney 200 Olympic champion admired the Slovenian official who continues to play along with the aggressors.

Kolobkov spoke about this in an interview with the propaganda TV channel Match TV. The former fencer called Čeferin a "strong leader" and wished him "the strength of mind to resist the position of a number of countries," forgetting that at least 12 federations are ready to boycott matches against Russian teams.

"The proposal is correct, it was wrong to suspend Russian teams, not just the youth teams, at first. Čeferin is a strong leader, UEFA is a powerful organization, let's see if they can withstand the pressure that is being put on them. I've known Cheferin for a long time, and I hope he will have the strength of mind to resist the position of a number of countries. Hopefully, especially since international federations in other sports have already had similar precedents," Kolobkov said.

Last year, UEFA tried to get the Russian youth national team back into the European Championship qualifying tournament, but faced a stiff rebuff from various countries. More than a dozen federations announced a boycott of the match with the team from the aggressor country. After that, UEFA reversed its decision.

As reported by OBOZ.UA, honorary president of the Russian Football Union (RFU) Vyacheslav Koloskov denied the return of teams from Russia to UEFA youth tournaments in 2024.

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