England, Denmark and other European federations refused to play against Russian U17 teams

European football has reacted to UEFA's decision to allow the Russian U17 team to participate in competitions. Several federations have announced that they will not play against the Russian team.

Recall that on September 26, UEFA relaxed the complete ban on the participation of Russian teams in its competitions. Russian U17 teams were allowed to play in international competitions without a flag, anthem, Russian uniform, and on neutral grounds.

UEFA confirmed that they condemn Russian aggression against Ukraine, but believe that children should not be held responsible for the actions of adults.

However, many associations opposed UEFA's decision.

England announced that they would not play against the Russians in any age category. This decision was later supported by Ukraine, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, and Norway.

All associations expressed solidarity with Ukraine and are firm in their decision that the participation of all Russian and Belarusian teams should be prohibited.

Recall that Russian clubs and national teams were banned from all international competitions following the onset of a full-scale war on Ukrainian territory on February 24, 2022. Currently, the Russian national team does not play any official matches, only occasionally holding sparring matches. Russian clubs are not participating in international tournaments, such as the UEFA Champions League or UEFA Europa League.