Shortly before the start of qualification for the EM 2024, 46 Green MPs are calling for the Belarusian national team to be excluded.
In a letter, the politicians appealed to the head of the European football association UEFA to remove the Eastern European country from the tournament because of its involvement in the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine and the poor human rights situation.
The existence of the letter was confirmed by the office of the deputy chairman of the Bundestag sports committee, Philipp Krämer, on Monday SID-Inquiry. The news magazine Spiegel reported on the Greens’ initiative at the beginning of the week.
Respect the decision-making authority of UEFA. “In view of the Belarusian regime’s inhuman policies, however, we would like to ask you to reconsider the reasons for the previous decision,” says the Green Party’s letter to UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin, quoted by Der Spiegel. Belarus, who, unlike Russia, are allowed to take part in the European Championship, start their qualifiers for next year’s finals in Germany against Switzerland on Saturday. The game will be played in Novi Sad, Serbia.
“All the world can see: the dictator Lukashenko is Putin’s most important supporter in his brutal war of aggression against Ukraine, which violates international law,” write the Greens. According to Spiegel, the letter was signed by parliamentary group leader Britta Haßelmann, Minister of State for Culture Claudia Roth, Bundestag Vice President Katrin Goering-Eckardt, Greens co-leader Omid Nouripour and also Krämer.
The federal government recently criticized the much-discussed decision of the International Fencing Federation (FIE) to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete in international sports again. According to the FAZ, the Ministry of the Interior described the resumption of the athletes as the “wrong way” and called for “common solidarity” for Ukraine.
