Swedish sports boss Karl-Erik Nilsson advocated the return of Russian youth to the Euro football fields and is now considering leaving. Danish federation boss Jesper Möller refuses to reveal his position in the vote.
Jaakko Servo,
Juuso Koskinen,
Sakari Lund
The international football association Fifa decided on Wednesday to allow Russia’s under-17 teams to return to international matches. With its decision, Fifa follows the example of UEFA, which announced last week to allow the return of Russian underage national teams to the federation’s competitions.
After UEFA’s decision, Sweden’s sports boss Karl-Erik Nilsson and chairman of the Danish Football Association Jesper Moller have been in the eye of the storm in their home countries.
British media Sky News reported that Karl-Erik Nilsson, the Swedish vice-president of Uefa, advocated the return of Russian youth to the Euro courts. Nilsson’s voting decision has caused astonishment, as the country’s sports federation has expressed its strong opposition to the return of Russians to national team football.
Nilsson was elected chairman of the Swedish Sports Association (corresponding to the Finnish Olympic Committee) last spring. Before that, he served as the president of the Swedish Football Association for twelve years.
According to Expressen an avalanche of criticism forced the union’s board to meet in an extraordinary meeting on Tuesday evening. After the meeting, Nilsson was allowed to continue as chairman. On Wednesday, Nilsson told Aftonbladet that he is considering resigning himself.
– I only want the best for Swedish sport and therefore it is worth considering all options, he commented with Göteborgs Posten.
The board will hold a new meeting on Friday.
The Danish boss is accused of concealment
Jesper Möller, the chairman of the Danish Football Association (DBU), has also received criticism. The continuation of the exclusion of Russian national football teams, regardless of age, has been outlined in Denmark up to the level of the country’s government.
Uefa justified the decision by saying that children should not be punished for the actions of adults. Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation According to NRK Möller has refused to answer how he voted on the matter, citing Uefa’s confidentiality guidelines.
– DBU has been working for years for the recognition, implementation and observance of UN conventions in the world of sports. This applies to basic rights such as children’s rights. It has been ratified by 196 countries, including Denmark, Möller explains in the sports association’s announcement.
Danish newspaper Extra Blades accuses Möller of concealment and “acting in the dark”. Danish Minister of Culture Jakob Engel-Schmidt has said that he wants to hear the truth from Möller himself.
– I assume that Möller has voted in accordance with the will of the Danish government and the football association. If not, we have to talk, Engel-Schmidt commented.
Finland’s position has not changed
Finland’s position on the matter is clear. The Swedish Football Association confirmed last week that its previous position is still valid. So far, Finnish teams do not play against the national teams of Russia or Belarus in any age group.
– We in the Football Association strongly disagree with UEFA and Fifa, the chairman of the Football Association Ari Lahti confirmed to Urheilu.
Lahti marvels at the actions of the Swedish and Danish sports bosses.
– I have read these news with a little surprise, because the Nordic countries have had a clear, unified line on these issues. I am looking forward to having a face-to-face conversation with Nordic colleagues. Maybe I can shed more light on what happened at the meeting.
However, Lahti does not see that the trust between the Nordic federations has suffered.
– Everyone is of course free to decide, but in most cases we coordinate decisions. However, this does not cause problems for cooperation between the Nordic countries.
UEFA’s decision has caused a lot of uproar, and along with the Finnish Football Federation, the chairman of the Norwegian sports federation Lise Klaveness has openly criticized the decision.
The Russian national teams and club teams have been banned from international football competitions since February 2022 after the country attacked Ukraine.