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FC goalscorer Anthony Modeste
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Moritz Mueller / imago images / Moritz Mueller
Bundesliga club 1. FC Köln would like to use the European Football Association (UEFA) to exclude Belarusian teams from the European Cup competitions.
The club justifies its demand with a "look at the political situation" and the "support of Russia by the Belarusian government in the war of aggression against Ukraine".
A corresponding letter had already been sent to Uefa President Aleksander Ceferin, according to the FC announcement on Thursday.
The FC is currently still waiting for its opponent for the playoff games to participate in the Conference League.
Depending on how the remaining qualifying rounds go, Cologne could meet a team from Belarus, currently four teams are still in the running.
Russian teams have already been banned from European competitions, but there is still one official on Uefa's Executive Committee in Alexander Dyukov.
President Werner Wolf called Belarus a "vassal state" that was "used as a deployment area for the Russian army."
Therefore, Belarus "must not be viewed as a direct participant in the war, but as an indirect one." An exclusion of the clubs by Uefa is "very consistent."
Uefa to follow the IOC
In addition, Wolf confirmed that FC had written to all other participating clubs "with a request to support us." , which we get there, to demonstrate against the war«.
According to Wolf, such a game would be played on a neutral pitch without spectators.
In the letter signed by managing directors Christian Keller and Philipp Türoff, the FC bosses asked Uefa to follow the recommendation of the International Olympic Committee.
At the end of February, the IOC advised the world federations of various sports to exclude Russian and Belarusian athletes.
Most recently, the Court of Arbitration for Sport CAS confirmed that the exclusion of Russian national and club teams from international football competitions was legal and rejected protests by Russian clubs and the association.
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