This spring, the Finnish national teams have a special situation in football and futsal. Both Helmar and Futsalmen have to play a home match on a neutral field, abroad without the audience and the support of fans.
The reason is that Belarus is facing.
The country participating in the Russian offensive war and supported it in the same block was drawn to the same block in both the League of Nations and the Futsalmen in the European qualifiers.
The European Football Association UEFA has closed its Russian competitions, but Belarus is still involved, more than three years after the war began. Belarus can also be used by its national IDs.
-I don’t think anyone should play against Belarus at the moment, Helmar goalkeeper Tinja-Riikka Korpela says for Sports.
It was decided in the Finnish Football Association that home matches against Belarus would not be played on Finnish soil. The Football Association has communicated to Uefa that Belarus should not be involved in international competitions.
– It’s an embarrassing entity. Uefa’s decision is that they are involved, so we had to decide whether or not we play or not, the Secretary General of the Football Association Marco Casagrande says.
The Football Association has listened to the players’ opinion to support decision -making and the solution has been made together with the captain.
“Players would not, in principle, want to play a match at all, but in these circumstances this is the best solution,” Casagrande says.
– It is disgusting that Uefa puts us in such a situation. If we do not play, we will lose points and the Football Association will be fined. So then we play, nothing can, Korpela says.
UEFA did not want to comment on Sports and the union has not justified why Belarus was involved. Only playing on Belarus is forbidden.
Athletically, the decision to fail to play would be difficult, as in addition to the fines, the resulting points would rain directly into the Belarusian sting. In the Futsal European Championship qualifier, Belarus is the main opponents of Finland, and in the League of Nations, Helmarit is trying to return to level A, which would make the qualifying route to the next World Cup.
Thus, not playing matches would make it difficult to achieve athletic success. So far as the only country for playing Belarus has refused Lithuaniawhose women’s national team lost, with the decision, the opportunity to qualify for the European Championship last fall.
According to Casagrande, this option was discussed in the Football Association, but the starting point has been to play matches if UEFA so determines.
– In this way, we get our own opinion that we play matches on an impartial field.
Exporting home matches to an impartial field takes ticket sales and event income from the union and brings extra travel expenses. The bigger annoyance of Casagrande thinks that supporters are taken to follow the matches on the spot.
Sports warehouse is expected to lapse
The Finnish national team for girls under the age of 17 played last fall against Belarus in the European Championship Qualifying Tournament in Norway. At the club level, HJK men, in turn, met the Belarus President in the fall Aliasandr Lukašenkan supported by Dinamo Minsk’s Conference League match in Helsinki.
In all other major team sports, the Belarusian teams are closed to international competition. Members of the European Parliament left to UEFA Requirement to close Belarus for competitions before the previous men’s European qualifiers, but to no avail.
In contrast, Russia has also been completely closed to international football and Futsal since the onset of the invasion war.
In individual sports, references to the return of Russian and Belarus to racing already exist. For example, in the Paris Olympics, some individual athletes in the countries were allowed to be involved without land badges when the sports federations allow. There were thirty such athletes at the race.
Team sports may soon follow. Much depends on what happens in international politics. Returning as President of the United States Donald Trump The effect of sports is also believed to be significant.
-It seems a bit that Trump’s latest actions and policies regarding Ukraine have created a situation that world politics will begin to move to Russia and Belarus as in certain sports circles, such as the International Olympic Committee, has Markku Jokisipilä says.
The next football men’s World Championships will be played in the United States, Canada and Mexico in the summer of 2026.
– It has been speculated that, at the request of the United States, sanctions against Russia will be completely dismantled or removed. Of course, it is that the sports side will be reacted to this too, says Jokisipilä.
SVT reported on Tuesdaythat the IOC has demanded that winter sports unions to enter the Russian and Belarusian Athletes at next year’s Milan-Cortina Olympics.
does not show their channels of pearl and futsal men’s matches against Belarus because the country is warring and there is no obligation to showcase the match.
– Belarusian athletes have been able to participate in several events in the so -called. as neutral athletes who have not represented the state and have not been able to use state tags. This is a national team that represents Belarus. We have decided that we will not show these Belarusian matches in this situation where the Russian offensive war in Ukraine is still ongoing and Belarus is involved, EPN Sports Manager Joose Palonen says.
The Finnish men’s futsal team plays both Belarusian matches in Budapest in March. Helmarit will meet in their nominal home match in Belarus in April. The playground of the match is not yet known.