UEFA on Russia test: “So what?”
Serbia doesn’t care about criticism and is paying handsomely
March 20, 2024, 3:19 p.m
The Russian national football team is testing against a European team for the first time since the start of the war against Ukraine. UEFA ducks out, boss Aleksander Čeferin doesn’t think it’s all that bad. And their opponents, Serbia, are cashing in handsomely.
Filip Kostić grinned into the cameras as the controversial but handsomely paid short trip to Russia began. At the side of his teammates, the ex-Frankfurt player was in a good mood and boarded the plane to Moscow, where the Serbian national soccer team was the first European team to meet Sbornaja since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine – and cashed in handsomely.
The Serbian association will receive a lucrative signing bonus of 250,000 euros from Russia, the costs of the trip will be covered – and, according to the Serbian leadership, an endurance test awaits the team on Thursday (6 p.m.) on the way to European Championships in Germany. The Russian war of aggression? Does not matter. Criticism? Is not desired.
“Why is this such a problem?”
It is “unbelievable” that this game is talked about more in all other countries than in Serbia and Russia, scoffed Serbian association vice-president Branislav Nedimovic, despite the Russian association’s exclusion from all competitions at club and national team level. He claims: “This is a sporting event that has nothing to do with politics.”
It is an attitude with which the Serbs are certainly not alone. “Now they’re playing a friendly game: So what? Why is that such a problem?” asked UEFA boss Aleksander Čeferin recently in a “Guardian” interview, with a view to the Russians’ gradual return, which has already happened due to the UEFA ban had flirted with a move to the Asian confederation AFC.
In any case, the European Football Union (UEFA), which is holding its congress in the Serbian capital Belgrade next year, cannot do anything legally. “Serbia can also play against you, me and the others in this room,” said Čeferin, who recently faced criticism over the planned readmission of Russian youth teams.
The “most beautiful stadium in the country” as a stage
After international matches against Iran, Iraq and Cuba, the Russians are now competing against Bochum professional Erhan Masovic or former Bundesliga players Kostic, Luka Jovic and Mijat Gacinovic. The following Monday we will play again in Moscow against Paraguay. Russia, which is also trying to compete with the Summer and Winter Olympics, is pushing back onto the world’s sports stages despite the ongoing aggression against Ukraine – and is finding comrades-in-arms.
Especially since the Serbian government is not participating in the sanctions because of the war of aggression anyway. Nedimovic, on the other hand, emphasized that Russia did not only lure people with financial incentives. The association also selected the “most beautiful stadium in the country”, the home arena of Dynamo Moscow. That should also put Kostic and Co. in a good mood.