By refusing to broadcast President Volodymyr Zelensky’s appeal before the final match of the World Cup, the International Football Federation (FIFA) has once again demonstrated hypocrisy under the slogan “Sport is beyond politics,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Sunday.
“But we are going to destroy this Carthage. Global sports organizations and their decision makers have hidden behind this phrase for too long,” the minister added in an Instagram post.
Kuleba pointed out that the phrase “Sport is beyond politics” has always “been hidden and always hides ordinary cowardice”.
“It becomes more evident when it comes to peace and war, all the more unjust than the Russian aggression against Ukraine. Where black and white, good and evil are so evident,” said the head of Ukrainian diplomacy.
Ahead of Sunday’s FIFA World Cup final, Oleksandr Kornienko, deputy speaker of Ukraine’s parliament, tweeted an appeal from President Zelensky, which FIFA declined to broadcast. The Ukrainian authorities offered to broadcast it at the stadium before the start of the final match.
In it, the Ukrainian leader called for support for the peace formula proposed by Kyiv and the summit’s initiative in this regard. “Peace must win and war must lose,” Zelensky said.
“Today we will see a common victory and a celebration of the human spirit. Different countries and nationalities decide who is stronger in fair play – not in a game with fire, on green grass, not on a battlefield. Every father would like to send their son to a football game, every mother would like their son to come back from the war,” Zelensky said.
“After the championship, the stadiums are empty. After the war, the cities are empty. That’s why war should lose, and peace should be the champion, like here and now in Qatar. The world championship, not a world war – it is possible”, he underlined.
“Support Ukraine in its efforts to restore peace. Join the World Summit for the Formula for Peace,” the Ukrainian President said.
