December 16 – FIFA has been criticised by Ukraine for an “unacceptable error” after it appeared to exclude Crimea as part of the country during last week’s European draw for the 2026 World Cup.
The blunder occurred in the middle of the draw presentation when a FIFA graphic excluded Crimea from the Ukrainian region, instantly leading to a backlash from Kyiv. Crimea has been under Russian occupation since 2014 with only a handful of countries recognising the peninsula as Russian territory.
The graphic was intended to show countries that cannot be drawn to play against each other for geopolitical reasons and included Ukraine vs Belarus.
Ukraine Foreign Ministry spokesman Heorhiy Tykhy took to X to comment: “By redrawing international borders in yesterday’s broadcast, you not only acted against international law, but also supported Russian propaganda, war crimes, and the crime of aggression against Ukraine. We expect a public apology.”
FIFA said it was “aware of an issue” and that the image had been removed though there was no hint of contrition despite the Ukrainian Football Association also writing to FIFA secretary-general Mathias Grafström and UEFA secretary-general Theodore Theodoridis over the matter.
“We appeal to you to express our deep concern about the infographic map [shown] on December 13, 2024,” the letter reads.
“Taking into account a number of official decisions and resolutions adopted by the FIFA Council and the UEFA executive committee since 2014… we emphasise that today’s version of the cartographic image of Ukraine… is completely unacceptable and looks like an inconsistent position of FIFA and UEFA.”
Ukraine have been placed in Group D alongside Iceland, Azerbaijan and the yet-to-be-determined winners of France’s Nations League quarter-final against Croatia.
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