‘Propaganda’: Ukraine suggests making World Cup broadcasts in country illegal
The Ukrainian Supreme Council (Verkhovna Rada) has suggested making broadcasting FIFA World Cup Russia 2018 games in the country illegal, branding broadcasting matches as “propaganda.”
Oleg Lyashko, leader of the Radical Party, introduced legislation to consider the broadcasting of the World Cup in Russia as “propaganda of the aggressor” and labelled it a “contradiction of the interests of the country.”
It had earlier been reported that some Ukrainian channels had held talks over acquiring the rights to some games. Ukraine did not qualify for Russia 2018, failing to progress from Group I behind Croatia and Iceland in the European qualifiers.
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Earlier in May, the Supreme Court announced that Russian journalists found to have ‘illegally’ visited the Crimean peninsula will be barred from covering the UEFA Champions League final at the Olimpiyskiy Stadium in Kiev on May 26.
Any Russian media representative found to have visited Crimea after the 2014 referendum will be considered to have “violated Ukrainian state borders” and will be barred from covering the showpiece between Real Madrid and Liverpool.
