As with the IOC: will FIFA go to end the isolation of Russian football

The decision of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to reinstate the rights of Russian athletes may push FIFA to return Russian teams to the international arena, but, according to experts, this will not be a quick process due to possible difficulties with the position of UEFA. Therefore, rumors about the imminent discussion of lifting sanctions against Russian football do not mean quick results in this direction.

The beginning of the discussion

When FIFA and UEFA suspended Russian national teams and clubs from international tournaments in February 2022, they relied on the recommendations of the IOC not to allow Russian athletes and teams to compete. On July 7, 2026, the IOC temporarily reinstated the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC), and also recommended that international sports federations refrain from checking our athletes for compliance with the criteria of neutrality, which in fact opens up the possibility of reviewing previous restrictions.

However, FIFA itself has already made it clear that it does not intend to make hasty decisions.

"FIFA has been informed of the IOC's decision to temporarily lift the suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee. The Federation will analyze this decision in coordination with the relevant stakeholders before deciding on further steps," the organization told Sky News.

From this statement, it can be concluded that the leadership of world football is in no hurry to return the Russian national team to international competitions. At the same time, Sky News, citing its own sources, published information that FIFA would discuss the return of our teams.

— The IOC formulated its decision very vaguely, calling it a "recommendation," Vyacheslav Koloskov, honorary president of the Russian Federation, told Izvestia. — It was also the case with the suspension of Russian sports in 2022. This is understandable, since FIFA and other international sports federations are not formally subordinate to the IOC. Therefore, he cannot give them an order, only a recommendation. But the influence of the position of this organization is very great, and federations in individual sports listen to it. Another thing is that due to political pressure against Russia in 2022, almost all federations obeyed the recommendation to suspend our athletes, and now not everyone is in a hurry to implement this recommendation in the opposite direction. Yes, in some sports, Russians have managed to return to the international arena, some even under our flag. But team sports in this sense are moving in this direction much more difficult, and football is no exception.

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In February 2026, FIFA President Gianni Infantino said that the ban on Russia's participation in international competitions "did nothing and only created more frustration and hatred." Many people took these words as a signal to start looking for options for the return of Russian football, but this topic did not receive further development at that time. The only notable step was FIFA's decision to hold a new tournament in the United States among youth national teams under 15 years of age, inviting all 211 national associations, including the Russian Football Union, to participate.

The European factor

In February 2022, the decision to suspend Russia was taken by the FIFA council: first, it was supported by the majority of the bureau members (the president of the international federation and the heads of the six continental confederations), then it was ratified by a majority of the 37 council members.

Accordingly, the decision on the return of the Russian teams must also go through this procedure. However, the key factor remains the position of UEFA. It is on her that the participation of Russian clubs in European competitions depends, and the national team in the European championships and the League of Nations. Even to participate in the European selection of the World Cup, the consent of UEFA is required.

— Perhaps, in the case of football, the position of UEFA plays a major role, — Andrey Chervichenko, the former owner of Spartak, shared his opinion with Izvestia. — Since European countries have the most consolidated position on anti-Russian sanctions at the political level, they also shut up. After all, all competitions in which Russia participates are held under the auspices of UEFA. In most other sports, there is no such eurocentricity, which is why they allow ours more actively there. After all, even many American athletes were not really against it, so their hockey players calmly come to play in the KHL. Not to mention the Africans, Latin Americans, and Asians, who generally treat us well or neutrally, except for individual states. Therefore, football will be very difficult for us for a long time. There could have been options if the RFU had moved to Asia, but in the end a different decision was made.

According to Vyacheslav Koloskov, who has served as FIFA vice president and member of the UEFA executive committee for many years, Gianni Infantino and his entourage are interested in returning to Russia, but they cannot make such a decision alone because of the position of the European national federations and their representatives in the FIFA council.

"Infantino treats Russia fairly adequately, especially against the background of the heads of some other international federations, such as athletics and biathlon, who immediately after the latest IOC decisions said they would not change their positions regarding us," Koloskov said. — Therefore, FIFA will lead its colleagues to gradually end the suspension story, especially since it has already been said that it did not give the result that was originally expected. But here it is necessary to convince UEFA, and not even personally its president Alexander Ceferin, but numerous members of the executive committee and congress. There are still major difficulties with them. Therefore, the rapid return of Russian football to the international arena, even after the decisions of the IOC, should not be expected.

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Recall that in 2023, UEFA decided to allow Russian youth teams under the age of 17 to qualify for the European Championship, but did not include them in the list of participants due to the refusal of most national federations to play with us. At that time, only Hungary publicly declared its readiness to play matches with Russia.

The information that appeared on the evening of July 8 also indicates that the path to the return of Russian football will remain difficult even after the IOC decision. According to The Guardian, UEFA is ready to block the possible admission of Russian teams to international tournaments. Officially, the union has not yet commented on this information, but sources in several national associations claim that they do not yet see any real prospects for Russia's return to European competitions.