Karl-Erik Nilsson voted for Russia’s underage national teams at the UEFA meeting, even though the Swedish federation opposed the return of the Russians.
There has been an uproar in Sweden since the European Football Association (Uefa) decided at the end of September to allow Russian underage national teams to participate in international competitions.
President of the Swedish Football Association and vice-president of UEFA Karl-Erik Nilsson was one of those who supported the decision, although the Swedish Football Association has been strictly against it.
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After the vote, Nilsson has come under heavy criticism in Sweden, especially since he has been the president of the Swedish Sports Confederation (Riksidrottsförbundet RF) in addition to the football association since the beginning of the year.
RF’s line towards Russian athletes is clear: as long as the war in Ukraine continues, Russian teams, regardless of age, should not be allowed to participate in sports competitions.
Swedish media according to Nilsson claimed that he only voted in favor of the investigation, but many RF member unions have questioned, in particular, that Nilsson works with two balls, so to speak.
Today, Nilsson announced that he is resigning from the leadership of the Riksidrottsförbundet after first meeting with the representatives of the unions. In the press release, Nilsson explained that his departure was due to the difficulty of combining two different roles.
– The recent media attention and focus on my person does not benefit Swedish sports. The attention has generated a lot of anger and personal attacks. Anger has replaced joy, Nilsson stated in his press release.
Nilsson will continue as UEFA vice-president. UEFA has six vice-presidents, its president is Alexander Ceferin.