The Football House held its first live meeting of the UEFAF Executive Committee since the start of the full-scale war. The first item on the agenda to receive unanimous support was a request to the leadership of the football association of Bosnia and Herzegovina to cancel the decision to hold a friendly match with the Russian national team, scheduled for November 19 in Russia.

The UEFAF Executive Committee called on the leadership of the Football Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina to be solidary with all civilized football world that has excluded teams from Russia from international competitions under the auspices of UEFA and FIFA.

Photo by the press service of the UEFAF

In the letter of members of the UEFAF Executive Committee to their Bosnian colleagues, it is stated:

"Dear Colleagues from the executive committee!

On September 10, a meeting of the UEFAF Ukrainian Football Association's Executive Committee took place, during which one of the issues was the consideration of your federation's consent to hold an international friendly match with the team of the state-aggressor - Russia.

Since the beginning of military actions by this state on February 24, 2022 in Ukraine, ten million people have left their homes and are suffering from aggression. Tens of thousands of people have died or been injured. There is no country in Europe where Ukrainian refugees have not arrived, and Bosnia and Herzegovina is one of them.

Until this moment, we were convinced that your wonderful country remembers the horrors of the war in the 1990s and will not allow its repetition in the 21st century. Our impression was formed by the experience of joint interaction and cooperation last year when our national teams fought for qualification to the FIFA World Cup 2022 in fair play. It is worth noting that the last match of the Ukrainian team in peacetime against your team took place on November 16, 2021.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has caused great damage to civilian population. Residential quarters are constantly subjected to bombardment, and the number of civilians killed during Russia's aggression is increasing every day. The population of many villages, towns, and cities suffers from a lack of water, food, and medicine. And all this is happening on the European continent, at the border with a state formation that both our countries aspire to join - the European Union.

As a result of Russia's military aggression on February 28, 2022, the FIFA Council and UEFA Executive Committee jointly decided that all Russian teams, national or club teams, must be excluded from participation in FIFA and UEFA competitions until further notice. Such a decision is correct and should become a symbol of zero tolerance for open military aggression in today's world.

In this situation, your decision to hold a friendly match with the country that has destroyed the lives of millions of people causes amazement, our protest, and directly contradicts the position of UEFA and FIFA. Moreover, such actions will encourage Russia to further disregard international law norms and continue aggression against Ukraine. Considering the unprecedented criticism of this decision in national and international communities, we appeal to you with a call to correct an error that may be inevitable for football in Bosnia and Herzegovina."