UEFA chief responds to questions on Russian Euros bid
UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has fielded questions on Russia's Euros bid and the likelihood of the women's team being able to compete at Euro 2022 in England this summer.
Ceferin held a short press conference after a UEFA Executive Committee meeting in Nyon on Thursday where the main topic of conversation was new financial reforms that will see spending on wages, transfers, and agent fees by European clubs limited to 70% of club revenue.
But Ceferin was prompted to comment on topics related to Russia since the country's clubs and national teams were banned from international events due to the Russian military operation in Ukraine. In the meantime, the Russian Football Union (RFU) has caused surprise by declaring interest in hosting either the Euro 2028 or 2032 tournament.
Ceferin was asked if there were any plans to expel Russia from UEFA and what his stance is on the successful host of the FIFA 2018 World Cup putting on an edition of UEFA's flagship international tournament.
"There are considerations about many things these days. Day by day, hour by hour the situation is changing. Again, I [would] not be a serious UEFA president if I would first speak to the media and then to the Executive Committee or General Assembly or whoever," was Ceferin's carefully-guarded answer.
"We are discussing, let's say, about it and we will have the answer very soon," it was added on Euro 2028 and 2032.
As for Russia's women possibly being reinstated to Euro 2022 later this summer, Ceferin was more elaborate.
"As you know, there is a court case at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in the case of [the] Russian football community or Russian Football Union (RFU) and clubs and national team," he noted in relation to the RFU's ongoing appeal.
"We expect some information from there as soon as possible but we know that we're in a hurry to decide about this issue. We know that the Euros are very soon, and that we'll have to take the decision soon. But we need some more information," Ceferin insisted.
Ceferin was additionally probed on whether there are any plans to stop UEFA games being broadcast in Russia and if not, why not.
"We haven't discussed about that yet," he revealed. "We think that for now there's no reason to do that. But things are changing day by day, so we will see what will happen. But today it was not on the agenda of the Executive Committee, so no decision has been made about it," Ceferin concluded.
